Desperation
by Atemu'sLotus
Summary: Finding those bombs aren't easy especially when Al falls for the girl that Ed and Al are boarding with. When the romance comes to a tragic end will Al get another chance when he goes back home to find her double alive? POST COS EdWin Royai and AlxOC HAITUS
1. Chapter 1

So I have decided to finally write that fanfic that explains who the heck Lamya is.

Basics: Lamya is mine ALL MINE!!!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

: Alphonse walks in: "But I thought that she was mine?"

: Ed follows: "Hey! No one owns my little sister!!!!"

Ummmmmmm……anyway _**I**_ made up Lamya because Alphonse needs a girl.

The FMA franchise is not mine. Sorry.

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Chapter One: The Meeting

CLAP! The thunder cracked across the sky as rain blanketed the fertile earth. It was mid May and a terrible thunderstorm had hit the rural area outside of Berlin. Trees were falling from the strong northern winds and the river was about to overflow. Houses were creaking and barns were moaning from the pressure of the storm.

One house…ok _shack,_ was in particular sad state. It resided to the left side of the road.

From the looks of it, the little shack would probably have two seconds left to stand but it had survived for twenty years now and it was not going to give up the fight.

A lone person occupied that house. They had been there since they were born and were _ironically_ going to die there. But that person was not in at that moment; in fact they were outside walking down the road not a quarter mile away from their home. The person stopped though when they noticed two figures walking and suddenly collapsing up the road.

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Edward and Alphonse Elric were on another adventure. Their mission was to find the rest of the uranium bombs that that crazy physicist brought to the other world and hopefully destroy them.

At first everything was going fine for the brothers had gathered their stuff and left Munich for different cities in hope of finding information. The brothers did not go very far though. The information that they sought was top secret and neither of the two could access the highly restricted files.

Instead the brothers decided to research physic experiments in order to prepare themselves for when they did get a lead on the lethal weapons. But again this led to a dead end since most libraries did not hold any worthwhile books on physics.

So in their frantic search to find a sufficient library they ended up going to Berlin.

Ed and Al had ridden a cart to Magdeburg and got off but other than that they had been walking for days.

They were exhausted and starving. Though Al did enjoy this because it meant he could feel; Ed on the other hand was pissed.

"UGH!!!! Blasted stupid mission!!! What the HELL is wrong with the libraries?!?!?! There is nothing! Nothing Al! N.O.T.H.I.N.G.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where are all of the books on physics? On science? On ANYTHING?!?!?!?! What is with this? Every blasted library that we have been to either does not have any books on physics nor has inadequate books that claim to know physics! Ugh." The elder Elric paused for a second.

Ed looked around, well as much as he could in the pouring rain. Nothing looked familiar, "Al where are we?"

"Ummmm…we should be on the road to Bradenburg. From Bradenburg we will get transportation to Berlin." Al stated as he stopped and looked around with his brother.

"The man said to take this road until the red barn with a star on top and then turn left? Or was it right? Was it a red barn or a brown barn? Or was it…" Ed's pondering went on for a good five minutes with Al rolling his eyes and trying his hardest to help his brother remember the directions.

After two more minutes Al started to feel nauseous and began to cough a little bit.

The roars of thunder blocked out any indication of the coughs to Ed who kept walking forward. Al followed in hope that he would not lose his brother in the rain.

"Well I think we should just keep going forward." Ed said.

Al stumbled as he responded, "Okay brother. But can we just sleep a little longer? I really do not feel like dancing with the chickens tonight."

"What? What the hell are you talking about Al? We don't dance with chickens. Al? ……..Al?" Ed looked to his right and saw no one. At this he panicked, "Al? AL? AL WHERE ARE YOU?"

Ed turned around to see his younger brother lying in a heap on the ground.

"AL! OH MY GOD AL!" he yelled as he ran over to Alphonse. The road was slippery and half way there Ed tripped. But this did not stop him as he crawled over to his little brother.

Al's forehead was burning to the touch and breathing staggered as he looked up at Ed.

"Brother? Brother why do you have sparkles like Major Armstrong?" Al whispered as he stared at Ed.

"Hey!" Ed shouted as he held his brother and looked down the road, "HEY! ANYONE! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? PLEASE SOMEONE, ANYONE PLEASE HELP MY BROTHER! PLEASE!!"

Ed tried to lift Al but with no success. Hope was fading fast until a voice could be heard in the distance.

"HELLO! HELLO ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" the person shouted as they ran towards the fallen brothers.

Pausing for a second Ed answered back. "HEY OVER HERE! OVER HERE! PLEASE HELP MY BORTHER! HE'S SICK!"

Nothing. Ed could see and hear nothing. The rain whipped against his face as his only hope seemed to disappear.

Al was fading fast and all Ed could do was hold him and attempt to keep the young teen from getting more soaked.

And then there they were. A figure suddenly appeared ten feet away. When Ed and Al came into view the stranger ran over to them. For the last two feet the person slid on their knees and stopped at Al's head.

Through the rain Ed could barely make out the person's face but he could tell that they were young.

The person put their hand upon Al's forehead and said, "He's burning up. Come follow me."

Obeying the command Ed picked up Al with the stranger's help and they began to walk towards a small speck of light. As they got closer Ed found out that the speck of light was in fact an old little run down house.

For a few seconds the stranger let go of Al and opened the front door to the home. They then turned back to Al and went under his arm and shoulder to support him. Following the stranger into the home Ed was suddenly over come with cold air and almost dropped Al from the shock.

The person led them to a bedroom in the back of the three room home. When they came up to the bed the stranger kept Al in an upright position. The stranger then proceeded to disrobe Al.

Ed stood in shock for a bit until he motioned to the stranger that he would it. At this the person nodded and walked out of the room closing the door behind them.

When Ed was finished he looked around the room to find some clothes for Al and himself. In the far left hand corner was a closet so Ed walked over to investigate.

A muffled voice came from the other side door, "There are some clothes in the closet. They were my father's so they might be a little big but at least they are dry."

Ed nodded to empty space and pulled out a box of dry clothes.

The stranger was right. The clothes were too big for the brothers but they were warm and dry so that is all that mattered.

Ed then pulled up a stool from across the room and sat next to Al's lying form. He touched his brother's cheek as a reassuring sign. Al smiled weakly. A knock rang through the room.

"Are you dressed?" the muffled voice asked.

Ed nodded. On the other side the person put their ear to the door. The silence was taken as an okay and they entered carrying a tray of herbs, two cups, a bowl, and a towel.

"I am sorry but I do not have any modern medicines but these herbs should do just fine." The stranger said as they crossed the room. Ed looked up to see the stranger.

It was a young woman who looked to be around Ed and Al's age. Her eyes were hazel and her skin pale as snow. The young woman's pale complexion complimented her blazing red hair that was split into two low shoulder length pony tails.

She set down the tray on the nightstand by the bed and turned towards Al. Carefully she leaned over and placed her hand upon his forehead. A flicker of worry and hope mixed together flashed in her eyes.

The young woman looked towards Ed. "He only has a fever from the rain so he should be all right but I will not take any chances. What I am going to do is mix these herbs and put them in a cup of boiling water so he can drink it. This will palliate any pain that he is feeling from the fever. Here," At this she bent over to show Ed the herbs. He nodded in agreement since he recognized most of them to be all right.

Then she began to mix the herbs in a ritualistic manner that confused Ed's aching head. She only got up once to get boiling water from the other room and proceeded to continue her little herbal religion.

After ten minutes she was finished. She placed the herbs at the bottom of the two cups and then slowly poured the boiling water over it.

When this was done Ed helped her lift Al into a sitting position.

"Now I need you to drink this please. It will help." The young woman stated as she moved the warm cup towards Al's lips. Al nodded weakly and opened his mouth to the soothing elixir.

Al finished drinking and laid back down as the young woman turned to place the cup back on the night stand.

"Thank you." Al whispered as he smiled at her.

She dipped the towel into the bowl of boiling water. Sitting down on the bed she leaned over Al and started to dab his face.

"You're welcome," she said as she placed the towel on his forehead.

Al smiled again and fell asleep.

"Here drink this," Ed looked up to see the young woman handing him the second cup of herbs. He stared at it for two seconds before taking it from her hands.

She smiled and looked fondly over at Alphonse, "Do not worry about him, he will be fine," she turned to look at Ed, "Do you want some stew?"

Ed's stomach answered for him.

She chuckled, "All right. I am going to go make some. Just keep his towel nice and warm while I am away."

Nodding Ed turned to look back at his brother with a guilty look on his face.

The young woman stopped at the door to look back at the two. Smiling she walked back into the kitchen to make some stew from the few supplies that she had.

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Well that is it so far so I hope you like it.

SPECIAL THANKS TO DANTECELL WHO HELPED ME EDIT THIS!!!!!!!!!!

İİİİİİİİGRACIAS!!!!!!!!!

If you want there is a picture of Lamya Vetz or Lamia Grass (whichever, they look the same when in black and white) that you can see on my deviantart account. My username is UnaCalley101. For the search engine just type **by: UnaCalley101**. Can you tell that I want you to go there?

Please enjoy yourself and critic my work. I am always trying to improve.

I hope to see you soon!

BONUS:

"Well I think we should just keep going forward." Ed said.

Al stumbled as he responded, "Okay brother. But can we just sleep a little longer? I really do not feel like dancing with the chickens tonight."

"What? What the hell are you talking about Al? We don't dance with chickens. We dance with cows. Chickens are way too stupid to dance. But not as bad as sheep…..or raccoons…. or platypuses. Oh my god I remember one time when I danced with platypuses and when I say ONE time I mean ONE TIME… Al? ……..Al?" Ed looked to his right and saw no one. At this he panicked, "Al? AL? AL WHERE ARE YOU? WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

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Okay now I am done.

Goodness I love BONUS'.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all of the reviews. It made me so happy that I almost cried but then again I was usually in class when I read them so crying in the middle of class over fanfiction when one is supposed to be paying attention is not the smartest thing to do……

Anyways here is Chapter Two! Please enjoy and if you have any critiques about my writing please voice it. I am hoping to get better at writing through fanfiction!

Disclaimer: You can't always get what you want! (You thought of that song didn't you? HAHA! May it be stuck in your head for the rest of the day!) This includes FMA.

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Chapter Two: Introductions

Ed sat there for a half an hour before the young woman came back into the room carrying three bowls of stew. By that time Alphonse was awake and attempting to sit up a little but Ed kept pushing him back down and scolding him.

The young woman laughed as she placed the stew on the night stand. The brothers stopped and stared at her like she was a goddess. As if the boy's practiced, both of their stomach growled. This only made her laugh harder.

"All right. All right. Dinner is served you two. Sorry for the wait." She said as she passed out the bowls of stew.

Al was finally allowed to sit up and he received his stew.

It was he who started the conversation as everyone settled around the bed.

"Thank you for taking care of my brother and me." Al said as he smiled at the young woman.

She put down her spoon and said, "Oh no please. No thanks are necessary. I could not just leave you there. I had to help, so no thanks are necessary."

Ed raised an eyebrow at this and looked at his brother. Just as he expected Al was gazing at the young woman with adoration and respect. A smirk found its way to Ed's face and Ed decided to have some fun.

"So what is your name?" Ed asked. Al looked at his brother in shock. 'Did brother just start a conversation with a stranger? Willingly? And not for any information on physics?'

The young woman smiled and said, "Lamia. Lamia Grass. And you?"

"My name is Edward Elric and this is my little brother Alphonse." Ed said as pointed at himself then Al.

Lamia nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Ed smirked, "Oh no the pleasure is all Alphonse's."

"GRK!" Alphonse choked as he whipped his head up to stare at his brother with wide eyes.

Lamia just chuckled stating, "Yes I hope," she turned to Al, "are you feeling any better?"

The plan was working. Ed gave himself a mental pat on the back as he watched a dumfounded Alphonse trying to salvage up some words in response to Lamia's question. But Ed started to talk again.

"Oh yes I believe that he is. That herbal remedy that you gave him works wonders. Immediately when he got up he wanted to thank you but I told him to rest before he got too excited and ruined the energy you gave him out of the goodness of your heart." At this Ed put his right hand over his own heart.

Again Lamia denied that she had done anything that sounded that noble but Ed persisted saying that not many people are noble enough to do the right thing in the first place. This conversation continued until Alphonse became light headed and started to back down. His action caused Lamia to stop.

"Oh! Have our loud voices bothered you? I am so sorry," Lamia said as she rose from her seat. Ed followed suit so that both of them were standing over Al.

"I think he is just tired since he has been trying to talk to you this whole time and here I have been taking it from him," Ed sighed and an evil grin formed on his face, "Why don't I leave you two alone for a bit? That way you and Al can talk in private."

A confused look crossed Al's face as he looked up at Ed. And then it clicked.

"Wh-what? Wh-wh-what d-d-o y-you m-mean b-brother?" Al stammered as he caught on to Ed's evil scheme.

"I mean you should _entertain_ our host while I go and sit in the kitchen." Ed said.

Al would have had a heart attack if Lamia had not intervened. "Oh no please Mr. Elric," Ed looked at her but let her continue, "Young Mister Elric needs his rest."

The brothers stole a glance at each other. Their thoughts were as one, 'Why so formal?'

Lamia took this pause to quietly leave the room with the command to Alphonse to 'please get some sleep'; that a cot with sheets was in the closet for Mr. Elric. Also with an apology that the two beds might not feel very comfy but it was all that she had at the moment, and a 'good night sleep tight'.

"What just happened?" Ed asked as she closed the door. Two seconds later they saw the lights go out from under the door.

While Ed stared at the door Al started to chastise his brother.

"Brother why did you do that? What possessed you to embarrass me in front of Miss Grass?"Al said as he glared at Ed.

In response Ed shrugged his shoulders. Ed proceeded to get ready for bed; he walked over to the closet and got the cot with the linens to make his bed. Ed then climbed in between the cold sheets. "I really do not know what possessed me….I thought it was pretty funny so I suppose I did it to lighten the mood and to entertain myself." He turned to look at Al lying on the bed across the room. "But I am glad that you are feeling well enough to scold me again."

Al sighed then turned to look up at the ceiling.

Just when Ed was about to fall asleep Al whispered something. If Ed had been more awake then he would have heard Al say "She is reminds me of mom."

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The smell of pancakes floated through the back room that was currently being occupied. It filled the occupants' nostrils with an aroma that they had not smelled in years.

Alphonse slowly opened his eyes. He could see Ed's sleeping form on the bed across the room. Sighing Al rolled over so he could see out the window.

The sun was shining brightly through the glass. Al could see the grass rolling from the wind. But he noticed that some of the ground was dirt instead of grass. 'Is this a farm?'

"Brother? Are we on a farm? Brother?" Al asked as he rolled over to look at Ed.

Ed grunted in response and pulled the covers over his head.

At that Al shook his head and said, "Brother you are so lazy."

But Ed's laziness did not last long as he lifted his head to sniff the air. "Pancakes?"

"Yeah I smell it too." Al said.

They both looked towards the door and then at each other. "Want to go check?" Ed said as he gave his younger brother the puppy eyed look.

Al shook his head. "No brother, YOU go check. I am sick remember?"

"Awwww……Why Al? Do you not want to go see your girlfriend?" Ed said as he got up.

Al's eyes widened into the size of saucers. "W-what?"

Ed smirked as he replied, "You heard me. You like her don't you? You think she is gorgeous."

Al's eyes grew bigger (if that was even possible). He could not say anything; all Al could do was gape at his brother.

At that point in time Lamia walked into the room. She stopped when she saw Al's shocked face.

"Young Mister Elric are you feeling sick?" Lamia asked in a worried tone as she swept across the room to put her hand to his forehead. This action just made Al blush and Ed's smirk broadened. "Oh my, your cheeks are all flushed. Here lie down and I will go get some warm water for your washcloth."

Lamia promptly turned around and walked out of the room.

Attempting to suppress his giggle fit Ed looked towards Al and then burst out laughing. The look on Al's face was priceless; he looked like a red tomato.

Al tried with all of his might to stop blushing and glare at his brother but the blush just intensified when Ed started to laugh out loud.

"What is so funny Mr. Elric?" Lamia asked as she brought in a bowl of steaming hot water and placed it on the night stand.

"I-it's nothing Miss Grass. Ed is just hungry that's all." Al said as he finally had the gusto to glare at his brother.

"Oh I am sorry!" Lamia said as she wringed out the hot wet towel and placed it on Al's forehead. She turned to Ed, "I am so sorry Mr. Elric. I shall go get your breakfast."

But before she could move through the door Ed stepped in front of her. "No need to apologize. I was just going to get up and eat. You just caught me in the act Miss Grass. And please call us by our first names."

The young woman blushed and lowered her gaze to the ground. "Oh I am sorry. I made pancakes for breakfast so you can eat as many as you want."

A smile graced Ed's lips. "All right. Thank you."

Lamia looked up into the deep gold eyes. She smiled and said, "Your welcome…Edward." Her smiled grew as she said his name.

Ed laughed. "Now that is more like it," he turned to leave when he looked over his shoulder at Alphonse "Would you like some too?"

Al nodded, "Yes please brother."

"Okay I will be right back." Ed said as he left to retrieve the two plates of food.

Smiling Lamia walked back to the bed and sat down. "So I am guessing that you won the fight on who has to get up first?" Lamia asked as she looked towards the door.

Al chuckled, "Yeah, I always win fights against brother."

Lamia looked back at Al smiling, "He really takes care of you. Edward was very worried when I first found both of you."

"Yes, well brother does worry a lot." Al said as he scratched the back of his head. "He probably feels guilty for my cold. I never like it when brother blames himself for something that is never is his to control to begin with. I mean even he can't control the weather." Before Al could say anymore he stopped. "I am sorry. You never asked about our problems. I don't know what came over me."

It was Lamia's turn to chuckle. "Ha-ha. It is all right Alphonse. I am used to people talking freely in front of me."

"Really?"

The new voice caught their attention but only Al looked toward the source of the voice. A man stood in the doorway of the bedroom. He was a tall lanky sort of fellow with a bristly black beard. His brown eyes looked at Alphonse then landed on Lamia. Al could not tell what the man was thinking at that moment but when he saw the way the strange man was glaring at Lamia Al immediately disliked him.

The man walked up to Lamia and stood right behind her. Ed entered the room empty handed just in case the man got out of hand.

The only reason why Ed let the man in the small shack in the first place was because he claimed to be the land owner. He had the papers and everything so Ed let him in. What Ed did not like was that the man did not wait in the kitchen but instead headed straight for the back bedroom. As the brothers glared at him, the man leaned over to whisper in Lamia's ear.

The whole time that the man was there Lamia was frozen stiff but when the man whispered in her ear she jumped. Her face was filled with fear.

She turned to get up from the bed but the man stayed where he was standing. This made it difficult Lamia to stand up. "Excuse me but you are blocking my way." Lamia whispered in a fearful tone.

The man pushed his face into hers and hissed, "I don't move for no devil child. Crawl around me wench."

"HEY!" Ed yelled as he grabbed the man's shirt collar. "Watch your mouth, bastard!"

Angered by Ed's outburst the man attempted to punch Ed in the face but of course Ed caught it. Ed was going to react when Lamia gently curled her fingers around Ed's fist. He stopped at looked at her. She did not meet his gaze but she did say something.

"Please Edward. Please stop. I just need to go get the rent money there is no need to fight. I was late in my payments it is my fault that he is angry so please let go."

The pain in Lamia's voice when she first started to speak made Ed loosen his grip and now he fully let go of the man. "But Lamia did you hear what he called you? He called you a -"

"I know what he said Edward I am not deaf," she said smiling sadly. "But he is the owner so…." Lamia stopped. Her face dropped.

Before Ed could say anything else Lamia scurried out of the room.

A scoff came from the man as he turned back to Al. He leaned down and examined the patient. "You don't look sick" the man growled.

Al's face scrunched up from the man's rancid breathe making Al unable to answer back.

"Well he is so buzz off," Ed growled back as Lamia scampered back into the room.

"Edward, please. Be nice to our guest." Lamia pleaded as she walked towards the 'landlord'. "Here you are. This is all I have, I hope it is enough. Last year was not the best year for farming." She said as she gave a brown envelope to the man.

He snatched it from her hands and opened the envelope to count the money. After a while he grunted. "Not nearly enough for three people. I need more."

This startled Lamia. "What? But they only just arrived. Could they not be included in next month's-"

The man snarled and pushed Lamia to the ground. Ed and Al shouted in protest but Lamia silenced them with her hand. "WHAT? ARE YOU CORRECTING ME WENCH? I SAID THREE PEOPLE FOR THIS MONTH AND I MEAN THREE PEOPLE! NOW GIVE ME MY MONEY OR DO YOU **WANT **ME TO KICK THEM OUT?" He shouted.

Lamia looked terrified. "Oh please, please I-I d-did not mean t-to upset you, Mr. Hofsteter. I am s-so s-sorry. I do not have enough money for three people but p-please let them stay. P-please I promise the harvest will be better this year I promise! I will pay three times the amount that I owe you by the end of the harvest if you just please let them stay, please." Lamia begged as she prostrated herself at the man's feet.

Mr. Hofsteter kicked her away. Lamia backed off but looked towards the man to see if he would relent. He did. "Fine you may keep these pets of yours but I want my triple rent money! Got it wench?" He spat at Lamia.

If Mr. Hofsteter had been paying attention then he would have seen a very relieved Lamia smiling at him. "Thank you sir thank you."

"Humph," was all he said as he pushed his way out of the room. He closed the front door with such strength that the house shook and dust fell from the ceiling.

Silence followed for many minutes as Lamia picked herself up off the floor and went into her bedroom. When she shut her door the Elric brothers let out an angry sigh.

Ed walked back into the kitchen and got the breakfast plates even though he had lost his appetite a long time ago. He came back into the bedroom and placed the plates on the nightstand. Slowly Ed went back to his bed and flopped down with his head in his hands.

"Bastard," Ed whispered after a little while.

Al just nodded. "Did you see her face brother? She was so scared. I don't like seeing her or anyone so scared."

Suddenly the sound of the door opening and closing was heard. Ed lifted his head and looked at Al with a confused look on his face. They strained their ears to hear the soft sound of hoe striking the terra firma.

Both of them looked out the window to see Lamia dressed in brown working slacks and an old white shirt. She had her hair up and concealed in a black clothe so that one could not tell what color her hair was. With the hoe in her hand Lamia was attacking the earth with a veracity that almost made the two brothers laugh out loud.

Ed decided to go out and help since Al was not allowed to get out of bed yet. As Ed walked up to Lamia he heard her mumbling something about perverted-stupid-old-goats-that-should-keep-their-hands-to-themselves-and-maybe-brush-their-teeth-once-in-a-while-and-then-maybe-babies-would-not-cry-every-time-they-saw-that-idiot's-ugly-face. And with each word she hit the hoe harder and harder into the ground. That did it.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! OH MY GOODNESS! LAMIA YOU- I- YOU WERE-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Ed laughed so hard that he fell onto the ground holding his sides.

By this time Lamia had noticed Ed and stared at him with the funniest and cutest face that Al had ever seen. Ed's laughing also adding to the situation and Al began to laugh out loud as well. Upon hearing another laugh Lamia saw Al fall out view laughing.

A smile crept onto Lamia's face as she watched the two brothers laugh their socks off. Soon she joined in until all three were laughing for five whole minutes before neither of them could breathe.

Lamia was kneeling on the ground holding her sides gasping for air as she said, "E-edwa-ard. O-o-ooohhh m-mm-yy g-ggoodnesss. Ahahahahaha-haha..Ouch my sides h-hurts."

Ed rolled over to look at Lamia, "Hahaha m-my sides hurt too. Ahahahaha…."

As the laughing fit wore off Lamia got up from off of the ground and then helped Ed up. "So was there something that I could help you with Edward?" Lamia asked as she wiped off some dirt from her and Ed's clothing.

"Well you looked like you needed some help and since..well…" Ed said as he scratched the back of his head, "well since Al and I staying here, is costing you extra I thought that I should at least work for our keep."

Lamia smiled warmly at Ed and then looked towards the window where Al's face could be seen. She winked at Al and then turned back to Ed. "Thank you Edward but you do not need to. I have lived on this land for years now and I have gotten by," her smile grew, "Barely. But I have gotten by."

Ed shook his head and grabbed the hoe out of Lamia's hand. "No I will help. Equivalent Exchange right?" Ed asked with a loopy grin.

"Equivalent Exchange? Like in chemical formulas?" Lamia asked.

Ed stopped working and looked up with a befuddled look on his face.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Lamia said as she put her hands on her hips.

Edward shook his head and said, "No it is just that people usually do not think of chemical equations as a metaphor for something." He thought for a moment before asking the fateful question, "Do you know anything about physics?"

The young woman laughed as she looked at Edward. "No, no Edward," she said "The question should be 'What do I not know about physics'."

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Well I shall let you soak up that for a bit. I hoped you enjoyed it!

Thanks again to DANTECELL!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU AND YOUR ADVICE!!!!!!!!!! Dantecell reviews all of the chapters so everyone should thank dantecell for being my BETA READER!! (Happy?)

See all of you soon!

BONUS: Lamia Grass venting about stupid landlords

Ed decided to go out and help since Al was not allowed to get out of bed yet. As Ed walked up to Lamia he heard her mumbling something about perverted-stupid-old-goats-that-should-keep-their-hands-to-themselves-and-maybe-brush-their-teeth-once-in-a-while-and-then-maybe-babies-would-not-cry-every-time-they-saw-that-idiot's-ugly-face. And with each word she hit the hoe harder and harder into the ground.

"Stupid, idiotic man with no purpose in life other than to make people absolutely miserable because he is too dumb to find a girl who could take care of him. Maybe if he got laid once in a while he would be more cheerful. Stupid, stupid idiotic man who is a waste of space. Ugh," Lamia stopped, looked up at the sky, and shouted, "YOU ARE BUT A WEEED IN MY GARDEN OF LIFE!! STUPID MAN WHO CAN NOT EVEN FIND HIS OWN WAY TO THE BATHROOM! I BET YOU CAN'T EVEN SPELL YOUR OWN NAME YOU IDIOT! THE ONLY REASON THAT YOU HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR IN LIFE IS BECAUSE MOTHER LET YOU SUCK ON HER (HEY! This is a T fic watch your mouth!) FOR HER WHOLE LIFE! I TAKE THAT BACK YOU WERE FED BY THE BOTTLE SINCED NO ONE WOULD WANT TO TOUCH SUCH AN UGLY PERSON!i UUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And there was the beautiful rant.

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i Studies show that people who are fed by the bottle instead of by their mother's personal milk factory are very grumpy and mean. No offense to those people out there! It is just a reference to that study.


	3. Chapter 3

So how is everyone?

I hope you are doing well.

I want to thank you for all of the reviews, story alerts, favorite stories, favorite authors (I literally cried over that one in Stats class), and author alerts (again I cried in Stats class and now the teacher looks at me funny…I wonder why? ;P ).

Please enjoy this chapter. (I really have nothing to say, sorry).

Critique again is encouraged and PLEASE tell me if you find any of the character OOC!!!!

Disclaimer: Yeah…really? Do I really have to? I can barely buy a twenty-five cent cow tail so how can I own FMA? I mean really.

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And the rest was history. Literally.

Ed got so excited about Lamia's answer that he promised to plow the whole land if she would tell him all that she knew. Lamia agreed and attempted to help him in his task but he refused. So Lamia went back inside the house to check up on Al.

"Are you feeling any better after the giggle fit?" Lamia asked as she walked into the bedroom.

Alphonse did not answer her. The poor boy was so exhausted from the said 'giggle fit' that he had fallen asleep.

When Lamia saw this she chuckled and walked over to his bed. She noticed that the bed sheets were all tangled so she tried to straighten them. Eventually she succeeded but unbeknownst to her Al had awoken during the process. He let her remove the warmth of the sheets only to feel her put them on again. When she finished Lamia bent down and stroked Al's hair. For a moment she paused and then finally deciding upon something she leaned in more and planted a kiss on his forehead.

He could not help it. Al gasped at the contact but quickly recovered so it would look like he was still asleep.

Lamia recoiled when Al gasped and if his eyes had been opened he would have seen her blush. She patted his sheets one last time and then rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Sweat was starting to form on Al's face as he thought about what just happened. 'Did she just kiss me? Did a girl really just kiss me?' Al thought. 'Okay so maybe it wasn't a real kiss on the lips but she kissed me just the same.'

Different emotions flooded Al's mind all at once. The most confusing was this feeling of butterflies in his stomach whenever he thought of the young woman in the next room. Al blushed as he realized that he had hoped that she had kissed him on the lips rather than on the forehead. Then a thought hit him, 'Did she mean it as a loving gesture or did she just do it as a maternal instinct? Does she only see me as friend/brother/son or does she see me as a love interest? WOAH. Love interest? Where did that come from? Why am I thinking about this when we have only known each other for barely a day? What is happening to me? UGH BROTHER HELP ME!!!!!!!!' Al sighed deeply and turned towards the window to his right.

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Ed suddenly stopped working and looked towards the house. 'Did I just hear Al?' He waited for anymore strange voices and then went back to work.

The work was awful. Ed had to plow the whole yard with a mule that was so close to dying that its flesh was already rotting. But he had no other choice since Lamia had no other animal. She said that Ed was lucky though since this is her first year with a plowing animal so it should take less time to plow the whole field.

It was just before five o'clock in the afternoon when Ed said, "How the hell did she do this without an animal? There is no way that that is possible."

"Well, where there is a will there is a way."

Ed looked up to see Lamia standing there with a glass of water. She handed him the drink and Ed took it enthusiastically.

After he was done chugging down the water he gave her the glass back saying, "Thanks but seriously there is no way you could have done this without an animal."

Lamia smiled, "Actually there is a way, it is called patience and many weeks of work. Instead of using the plow I used the hoe to break up the ground. The lines were never perfect but I had enough crops to pay off-" She stopped. Something got caught in Lamia's throat making her unable to speak.

Hearing the pause Ed looked up to see Lamia on the brink of tears. He stopped and looked at her sadly. 'What do I do in these kinds of situations? How do you comfort people?' Ed debated with himself as Lamia started to turn back to the house.

"I-I n-need to start dinner. Is there anything that you would like?" Lamia asked with her back facing Ed.

'Lamia...' Ed thought sadly as he replied, "Ummm…anything is fine with me. Do you need any help?"

She was still facing the house when she answered, "Oh no, you have been working all day. I can handle it."

A small smile crossed Ed's face. "Actually I was going to suggest getting Al to help you."

At this Lamia laughed and turned around to look at Ed, "All right. Dinner will be ready in a half an hour."

"Good I should be done with plowing the field by then," Ed responded. As he looked back at Lamia he saw a blush fading from her cheeks. 'Was she just blushing because of me?' At this thought Ed blushed and went back to work, trying to not look at Lamia.

But Lamia did not notice Ed's quick retreat. She simply turned back to the house to prepare dinner.

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Al was sitting at the table while Lamia was stirring the stew on the stove when Ed came into the house for dinner. As Ed took off his shoes he noticed Al staring at the table like it was the most interesting thing in the whole world. This made Ed chuckle.

"Is it quality wood Al?" Ed asked as he sat down in the chair across the table.

Al jumped and looked at his brother. "Ummm…….w-well I-I..."

Lamia turned from the stove to look at the babbling Alphonse. When their eyes locked, a blush crept up Al's face.

"Is everything all right Alphonse? Do you not like stew? Is that why you have not been talking?" Lamia asked as she turned to face Al fully.

Al's blush intensified. "N-no I-I like stew, in fact it is brother's favorite."

"Oh..." Lamia gasped and both brothers jumped. They looked at her as she said, "Are you feeling sick? Is that it? You should not push yourself Alphonse. Maybe you should go back to bed." Lamia reached out to help Al up when he pulled away and turned the color of a bright red tomato.

Seeing this Ed smirked, 'Ah I get it.'

"N-no I-I am fine. I just did not know what to say. That's all. I am sorry for worrying you." Al stuttered as he continued to look at the table.

"Oh all right, as long as you are feeling fine." Lamia said as she turned around to look after the stew. After a couple of seconds of looking over the stew Lamia bent over to get a towel to carry the hot pot.

It was at this time that Al decided to look towards Lamia. Of course Ed watched as Al's face turned red again as Al saw Lamia bend over. Ed did not see why it was THAT embarrassing since she had a loose brown dress on that in no way shape or form complimented her figure. But what really caught Ed's attention was how it took Al a few seconds to avert his eyes back to the table. 'Interesting,' Ed thought.

"Sorry but we are having stew again tonight. I hope you do not mind." Lamia said as she put the pot on the table. She then got out three bowls and spoons and set them in front of their respective persons.

Ed scooted up in his chair and grabbed his spoon. "No complaints," Ed stated before he began to eat as Al slowly picked up his spoon. Before Al ate some stew he looked at Lamia. She was eating her stew very slowly as if savoring the flavor. He smiled softly and started to eat.

When Ed had finished his first helping of food, he began to ask Lamia questions about physics. "So how do you know about physics Lamia?"

"Well," Lamia said as she put down her spoon, "I personally do not know much about physics but a friend of mine is an expert, though she will not admit it. She lives in the city of Berlin and she has been working on the concept of fission."

Al stopped eating and looked at Lamia. "Fission? What is fission?"

Lamia shrugged. "I have no idea but if you want you can ask my friend when we go into town in tomorrow after mass. Her name is Lise Meitner. And she lives for physics," Lamia leaned forward at this, "Personally I favor chemistry. She has taught me a lot about that subject."

At this Ed chuckled. "Why, do you like chemistry?" he asked.

A blush crossed Lamia's face. She brought her hands to her cheeks and smiled. "Ummm…well chemistry has a lot to do with the earth's natural elements and those help in medicine. I always wanted to be a doctor so chemistry intrigues me….I am sorry."

Ed sat up straight. "What? Why?"

Lamia put her hands in her lap and looked down. "Well I said that I knew about physics but instead here I am babbling about chemistry AND I do not even know much about physics, Lise does. I am sorry that I falsely led you like that. Please forgive me."

Both brothers looked at each other. "Lamia you do not have to apologize. You said that you had information on physics and you do. There is no need to apologize." Ed said as he leaned across the table to try and make eye contact. It did not work; Lamia kept looking down at her hands and started to fidget.

What happened next surprised Ed.

Al leaned towards Lamia and said, "Lamia?" When she did not respond, Al outstretched his arm and touched Lamia's left cheek. He then cupped her chin in his fingertips and gently lifted her head so that her brown eyes met his caramel ones. "Lamia we do not blame you for anything. In fact you helped us with your information, we should be thanking you. All right?" Al finished with a warm smile and when Lamia did not respond, Al brushed her cheek his fingers.

If Lamia had not blushed before she did now. She looked into Alphonse's eyes. All she could do was nod.

After Lamia responded Al withdrew his arm but he was still leaning in and gazing into her eyes.

'Wow. Talk about being forward Al. I did not know that you had it in you.' Ed thought as he looked from Al to Lamia. 'And talk about an awkward moment. Now what?'

He looked up and noticed an electric light hanging from the ceiling. As he looked around he saw that the stove was extremely old and somewhat rusted while the rest of the house was even less technologically advanced. This puzzled Ed. So he decided to take the initiative.

"Why do you have an electric light but no indoor plumbing?" Ed asked Lamia.

Ed's question snapped everyone out of their daze. Al retreated and blushed as his gaze went back to the table. Lamia turned her already red face towards Ed and answered, "Oh. Well, my best friend Winry put in that light in a week before she…before the accident."

The brothers quickly made eye contact and asked as one, "What?"

Lamia looked at them with confusion plastered all over her face. She answered, "Yes. My best friend Winry was fascinated with electricity and decided to put in that light for me. Heh, she loved fooling around with machines too. Her favorite was the car. She absolutely adored working on cars."

"But you said something about an accident. What happened? Is she all right?" Ed asked. He could not believe his luck, he finally found this world's Winry and this time he would do things right by her.

Sadly his luck did not go very far. Lamia's eyes saddened a bit as she recalled the accident. "Winry was cranking her car when it started so suddenly that it ripped her arm off. I asked her if she got it checked by the hospital and she swore she did but a month later she died of gangrene." Lamia's eyes started to water. "I miss her a lot. She was a good friend and was always there for me."

Ed could not move as he listened to Lamia. 'How could this happen? Why? Why was the gate so cruel to him? Would he ever be forgiven for his sin?'

Lamia finally had enough. "I am really tired so I am going to go to bed early. Do you need anything before I turn in for the night?" Lamia asked as she cleared the dinner table.

"No thank you. Good night." Al said as he and Ed slowly got up. They walked back to their room and shut the door. Neither of them said anything to each other as they got ready for bed. Finally, when they were sitting on their beds Al asked Ed if he was all right.

After a few seconds Ed sighed, "Yeah I am fine. It just seems too much to hope for any good news anymore. It is sad that this world's Winry died but maybe it was a blessing in disguise since all I did was made our Winry cry… So maybe her death saved her from more grief."

"Brother, brother you are wrong. You did-" Al said before Ed put his hand up in the air.

"Yeah I know but let me sulk for a while huh?" Ed said as he smiled sadly at Al.

Al sighed and nodded. He went to get under his sheets when Ed spoke.

"So.…..Are we, uh, getting interested in our new friend?" Ed asked as a smirk graced his face.

Through the dark Ed could see Al blush. "Ummm….w-well...You see, uh…." Al stuttered as he tried to explain his actions.

The cot creaked as Ed leaned back to look at Al. His smirk grew as he said, "Nothing? Really? I thought that you would at least have some sort of excuse. Do you have an excuse for not looking or talking to her for most of the evening?"

Al had an answer for this but he could not say it, so he just nodded in reply.

This piqued Ed's interest. "Well? Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?"

Alphonse decided to take the former and said, "Umm. Well… After that laughing fit this morning I fell asleep. And Lamia came in to see if I was doing all right but I was asleep so…anyways she was straightening out my sheets when I woke up. I pretended that I was asleep still-"

"Why?" Ed asked as he sat up and leaned forward.

"I don't know why, I just did." Al said as he lowered in shoulders and put his head in his hands. "So anyways I was pretending to be asleep. Lamia had finished fixing my sheets and then she…she kissed me."

"She what? She kissed you? On the lips?" Ed asked. The shock of this revelation hit him straight in the face almost making Ed fall out of his cot.

"No she did not kiss me on the lips, she kissed me on the forehead," Al corrected.

"Dang, that's too bad." Ed said as he looked at Al with bemusement in his gold eyes. "So did you kiss her back?"

Al drooped a little bit more. "No but…but I wanted to," Al whispered. He suddenly looked up and straight into Ed's eyes, "Brother, I do not get what is going on. First I was happy then embarrassed then scared and then happy. I could not bring myself to look at her this evening because then all of those feelings would come rushing back. And then when I saw her so sad all I wanted to do was hold her and make her feel better. I had no idea what I was doing when I touched her cheek. Brother, I am so confused, what is going on? What is happening to me?"

It was Ed's turn to be speechless. 'What I am supposed to say? I never told anyone about my feelings toward Winry so I have no advice! Dang it!! I should have listened to that bastard colonel when he was razing me!!!' Ed thought quickly, "Ummm… well first off a girl finally kissed you and that is a good thing."

As stupid as that statement sounded Al still listened intently to Ed.

He continued, "What your feeling is natural. I mean anyone would feel weird if they were kissed by a girl while they were sleeping."

"But brother what is happening? Is this what I missed for four years while I was stuck in that suit of armor? Does everyone feel sick to their stomach and in some weird way enjoy it?" Al asked as he desperately looked at his older brother.

Ed rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "Al what you are feeling is natural, in other words you have a crush on Lamia."

This made Al blink. "I want to crush Lamia? Brother that makes no sense. I do not want to hurt-"

"No, no, no. I said you have a C-R-U-S-H on her. You find her attractive Al and you might even fall in love with her." Ed said as he shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Al could not move. 'Is that true? Do I find Lamia attractive? But I have only known her for a day. Is that enough time to know and start to like each other?'

"Brother are you sure? We only just met. Are you sure that I have a crush on her? Maybe I am feeling weird because of the fever." Al said as he tried to rationalize this new bit of information.

"You are starting to sound like me Al," Ed said as he chuckled a bit, "Good night Al and sleep tight."

Ed slipped under his covers and fell asleep instantly. Al on the other hand stayed awake for most of the night. He could not stop thinking of the day's events. It was all so confusing.

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After Lamia came home from mass the next morning they started out on their journey toward Berlin. Ed and Al were finally getting closer to their goal.

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So yeah. That is it. I abhor this chapter because it is a filler chapter and there really is nothing to it.

Poor Winry is dead but I thought that would be merciful in this situation. You will see why in a couple of chapters. Yes people did get their arms ripped off when they were cranking their cars. I do not know if died from those injuries but it possible.

Well have fun glaring at this horrible chapter!!

Thank you dantecell for being my beta reader!!

BONUS

Different emotions flooded Al's mind all at once. The most confusing was this feeling of butterflies in his stomach whenever he thought of the young woman in the next room. Al blushed as he realized that he had hoped that she had kissed him on the lips rather than on the forehead. Then a thought hit him, 'Did she mean it as a loving gesture or did she just do it as a maternal instinct? Does she only see me as friend/brother/son or does she see me as a love interest? WOAH. Love interest? Where did that come from? Why am I thinking about this when we have only known each other for barely a day? What is happening to me? UGH BROTHER HELP ME!!!!!!!!' Al sighed deeply and turned towards the window to his right.

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Ed suddenly stopped working and looked towards the house. 'Did I just hear Al?' He waited for anymore strange voices and then went back to work.

Narrator: So Elric Telepathy really does work!

'Ummm…….brother?'

'Al? Al is that you?'

'Yeah…um….I just got kissed by a girl.'

'Really? SCORE!!'

'BROTHER!!! HAVE SOME DECENCY!!!'

'Fine. Well tell me when you have hit a home run.'

'O.O'

Narrator: And thus Al was scarred for life.

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Hope you enjoyed it!

See ya later and please enjoy yourself!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi!!

So there is a reason why this is so late…………………………

The reason being that I was researching the historical figure Lise Meitner. Yes folks, Lise Meitner is real!

She helped discover fission but because she was a Jew, Hitler took her name off the list of scientists therefore she did not win the Nobel Peace Prize along with her comrades. Sucks? Indeed. So I shall spread her name so she will not be forgotten!!! POWER TO LISE MEINTER!! WOOT!!!!!

Please Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was fishing the in great lake of anime/manga. She almost caught a fish but her string snapped thus loosing the fish. FMA was the fish that got away.

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While Alphonse and Edward were waiting for Lamia to come home from Sunday mass they noticed the landlord walking around the property. This caught their attention.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Ed growled as he watched the man through one of the windows in the kitchen.

Al shrugged and got up to take a better look. What he saw made his face go pale.

Along with the disgusting landlord were some Nazi soldiers. The landlord was pointing to different areas around the property and seemed to be discussing something with the Nazi soldiers. The solders nodded in response.

These events were dictated to Ed from Al, who was by the window.

"Brother, what do you think that they are doing?" Al questioned as he watched the group leave.

Ed was concentrating on the table when he stated, "I do not know Al but I don't like it."

A half an hour went by until Lamia returned. The boys decided not to talk of the incident until later when they had proof of foul play.

Lamia hustled around the house getting ready for the trip to town. She was carrying a few baskets with blankets and sheets. Wondering what she was doing, Ed poked his head into her bedroom.

The bedroom walls were covered in maps and paper. Some maps were of Paris, France while the dominating ones were of the waters around the Bermuda islands. Pencils littered the floor and suitcases lined the back wall. In the farthest corner to the left stood a desk with notebooks upon notebooks that looked to be filled with chemical equations, formulas, and theories.

The owner of the room could be found near the farthest right hand corner gathering up clothes and stuffing them into one of the various wooden baskets. Hearing someone enter, Lamia looked up to see Ed standing in the door way, dumbfounded at his surroundings.

When Ed's gaze finally landed upon Lamia, he asked, "What are you doing?"

Lamia looked around her room. It was as if the answer would somehow pop out from under one of the many piles of paper but alas nothing came. She turned back to Ed and said, "I am gathering up some supplies for when we go to town. We also need to restock our supplies while we are there. Is there anything that you or Alphonse ne-".

Ed shook his head. "No, I mean what is with all of these maps?" Ed said as Alphonse walked in. He had the same reaction as his brother. The two siblings looked at Lamia, waiting for an answer.

A blush crept up her face as she wrapped a shawl around her head. "Oh, ummm…well it is nothing. Really. Umm…should we not be going?" Lamia said as she picked up the wooden baskets and scurried out of the room.

The brothers acted like they shrugged off the incident but in reality it was the only thing running through their minds on the long trip to town. They were so wrapped in this morning's events that they almost missed what Lamia said to them.

"-in a couple of hours. All right?" Lamia said as she checked her baskets again.

"Wait, what?" Al asked as he and Ed did a double take.

Lamia chuckled and shook her head. "Were you not paying attention?"

In one synchronized motion the two brothers brought their left hands up behind their heads and said, "Sorry." They looked at each other for a minute while Lamia laughed.

Catching her breath Lamia repeated, "I said, 'Miss Meitner's current residence is the KWI which is up the street and turn right. Just knock on her door and tell her that I sent you. She should be able to help you. I will be getting some supplies so I will meet you back at Ms. Meitner's house in a couple of hours. All right?'"

When Lamia realized that the information had sunk in, she promptly turned around and headed for the market, leaving the two brothers to their own business.

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The building was modest with a formal garden in the front. The windows were clean and the whole structure gave off this somewhat homey comfy feel. Ed and Al walked up to the door and rang the door bell. They waited for a couple of seconds until a voice was heard from behind the brothers.

"May I help you gentlemen?"

They turned around to see an older woman who looked to be around her mid fifties. She had her black hair up in a bun and had a small but firm stature. The brothers smiled and Ed stepped forward.

"Yes, are you Miss Meitner?" Ed asked the woman.

The woman seemed to tense up at the question. "Why would you like to see her?" the woman asked as she looked over the brothers.

At this Alphonse said, "Lamia said that Miss Meitner could help my brother and I. We had a few questions regarding physics and maybe some chemistry. My name is Alphonse Elric by the way and this is my older brother Edward." He pointed to himself and then his brother.

The woman seemed to relax at the mention of Lamia, but she was still weary of the strangers. She responded in kind, "And where is Lamia now?"

Ed looked at Al for the answer and then remembered, "Oh, she is at the market for some supplies. She told us to go and meet you and then she would come back for us in a couple of hours. Why?"

The woman started to walk towards the door behind Ed and Al so they got out of her way while she spoke, "I was just wondering. Please come on in. By the way, my name is Lise Meitner."

Again the brothers looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, then followed Miss Meitner into her home. They were led to the living room where Miss Meitner said, "Would you like some coffee or tea? I am sorry but I have no sugar or milk to sweeten it, so if you want some you will have to have it black."

Sitting down Ed said, "Yes, that would be very nice. We will have some coffee please."

Al nodded in agreement as Miss Meitner smiled and left the room. She came back with a tray full of the promised liquids. Carefully setting them down on the coffee table Miss Meitner handed the brothers their cups of coffee.

Miss Meitner then sat down in a chair across from the couch on which the two brothers were sitting on. After taking a sip from her coffee cup she asked, "So, how did you come to know Lamia?"

Putting down his cup in mid-sip Alphonse answered, "Well, my brother and I were traveling on the road when I became sick and Lamia took us into her home. She has been taking care of us ever since. How about you?"

Chuckling Miss Meitner said, "How very much like Lamia. I met her in the market. She helped me pick out the best type of vegetables for a nice dinner that I make. While walking home I found out about her fascination with science and we got to talking. So now every month she comes to visit and learn a little bit more about science. Right now she is interested in chemistry. We have known each other for at least two years now."

Al laughed, "Why is it that whenever she meets a new friend it is through her helping them?"

"I do not know why, but I hope it continues. Now what did you want to know about physics?" Miss Meitner said as she smiled at the two brothers.

"Where to begin…" Ed said as he joined the conversation.

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Lamia had unloaded her baskets and now she walked up to the KWI. 'I wonder if they found this place all right. The directions I gave them were kind of vague. Well, let's find out.' Lamia thought as she rung the door bell.

No one answered. So Lamia rang the door bell again. Again nothing. Worry started to set in when Lamia knocked on the door and still no one answered.

'Maybe they went out? But I told them that I would meet them here. Where are they?' Lamia thought as she looked around. Sighing, she resigned herself to look at the garden. It was blossoming and very colorful as Lamia strolled though the garden path. She had always enjoyed flowers so she decided to sit down.

Alas there was no place to sit so she laid down among the daisies. As she looked up into the sky Lamia began to think of yesterday's events.

'I kissed Alphonse. Kissed him. Well, technically on his forehead but just the same. What came over me? I do not get it. I just met him. What possessed me to kiss him? Of course he is attractive and nice and sweet and he smells divine and he-okay STOP! All right so he is a very nice man but I just met him. So can I really lo-. I really need to stop thinking…._but did you notice how he touched your cheek yesterday? That means he feels something too._ Yes but did YOU notice that he did not talk to me at all before that? _Of course but what he did after meant something. Come on, give yourself a chance. You deserve it._'

A lone tear fell from Lamia's face as she kept staring at the sky. "No, I do not," she whispered to herself, "I do not deserve anything. But those brothers do. Edward and Alphonse deserve something better than this life. I can see the sorrow in their eyes when they think that I am not looking. I want to protect them from that sorrow so they do not end up like me."

Lamia brought up her hands to cover her eyes as a flood of tears were released. "I want to protect them. I want to protect them……No, I NEED to protect them and I will." Her hands fell from her eyes and she glared up at the sky. This time she said it louder, "I need and will protect them. And that is a promise."

She sighed and looked to her side to see the daisies sway in the warm breeze. Slowly her eye lids began to grow heavy and she quietly fell asleep.

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"So we should meet every two weeks. This project that you are working on needs to be researched constantly so you can borrow some of my books and do what you wish with them. We need to meet more often so this project can get over with before anyone gets hurt. Agreed?" Lise Meitner said.

The three people, who were supposed to be at the KWI to wait for Lamia, were out taking a ten mile walk. Lise had told them of her daily walks and asked if they would like to join her.

Ed and Al had told Lise what they could about their mission, minus the parallel universe thing. She had gladly accepted to help them since it helped her research more on uranium. So they decided their meeting place should be Lise's house. An alliance was formed.

Soon they were back at the KWI. As they walked towards the door Alphonse noticed a tuft of red in the garden of daisies. He went over to investigate. As he came closer he recognized the red tuft to be Lamia's hair. A smile graced Al's face as he saw her sleeping peacefully.

It was quite picturesque. Lamia was lying on her back, her legs slightly bent. Her left arm was draped across her waist as her right arm was bent towards her face, her hand slightly touching her cheek. Her crimson hair was strewn out over some of the white daisy petals.

Alphonse just stood in awe of how beautiful Lamia looked, lying there in the garden of daisies with a green church dress on. He bent down and touched Lamia's left shoulder, "Lamia? Lamia, please wake up."

Lamia just mumbled and turned her head. Al smiled, "Just like brother." A chuckle escaped from Al as he bent down and picked up Lamia bride style.

By this time Ed and Lise noticed Al's absence. When they looked around the saw Al picking up Lamia. Ed blushed and Lise chuckled.

Ed asked "Ummm….Al? What are you doing?"

Al blushed a little bit as he walked towards Ed and Lise. "Well she wouldn't wake up, brother so I think we should go back to her house." Al said as walked up to Lise.

Lise put a stray hair behind Lamia's ear as she said, "Then I shall call a cab. You just wait here."

There was an awkward ten minutes as they waited for the cab. Poor Al's arms were about to break as the cab drove up. Ed grabbed the books from Lise and said goodbye as he got into the front seat next to the driver. Al carefully placed Lamia in the back seat and turned around.

"Thank you for everything Miss Meitner. I hope to see you well again. Goodbye," Al said as he held out his hand to shake.

Lise Meitner took his hand and shook it as she said, "You are welcome Alphonse and I hope to see you in two weeks. Oh and please take care of Lamia, a broken heart cannot easily be healed." At this Lise Meitner winked and turned to go back into her house.

Al stood there, befuddled, for a good five minutes until the cab driver yelled at him to get in. He shimmied in next to Lamia. As he came in her head fell on his shoulder. A blush formed on Al's face as he looked at Lamia who had a small smile on her lips.

When he made sure that Ed was not looking Al leaned towards Lamia and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. He smiled and then snuggled a little closer to the sleeping form that was Lamia Grass, Al's first crush.

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So I hope that you enjoyed it!

Thanks to my beta reader Dantecell. And that is it!!!

See ya until next time!!

BONUS!!

When Al made sure that Ed was not looking Al leaned towards Lamia and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. He smiled and then snuggled a little closer to the sleeping form that was Lamia Grass, Al's first crush.

Psiren comes in. "Hey! I thought that I was your first crush!!"

Al: Ummmmmmmm…….

Atemu'sLotus to the rescue! Atemu'sLotus pushes Psiren out of the way and yells "GRAHHHHH!!!!!!!!! HANDS OFF Btch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Al is for Lamya and Lamya only!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Lamia wakes up. "Wait that is not how you spell Lamia. You said 'Lamya' not Lamia. Why?"

The authoress has been caught!! "Uhhhhhhh………weeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllll………………you seeee IIIIIIIIIIII UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM…….LOOK SOMETHING SHINY!!!!!"

Everyone: Where?

They all look in the opposite direction as the authoress runs for it.

Atemu'sLotus: Phew.wipes sweat off of brow That was a close one. Almost blew the plot away. Well at least now Lamia's death is still a secret."

Everyone: WHAT?!?!?!!

Atemu'sLotus looks around and realizes that she only ran two feet. "Aw Sht."

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See ya later alligators!!


	5. Chapter 5

İHolá everyone!

¿Comó estan?

Please look at chapter four because it has been updated!!

So I asked my reviewers, "How would you like Lamia to die?", and I received three reviews on the subject matter. Two of them consisted of fire so guess what is coming up? evil grin

Alas I did have writer's block but now I am cured!! ;P

I want to thank all of the reviewers who did review: Brianna; blue-soljah; dantecell

İGRACIAS!

It was then decided by me and my beta reader, that I would split the fourth chapter into two chapters, so that is why they are medium sized instead of oober long.

_**Now in this chapter, there is certain content that might be considered offensive by some so please proceed with caution.**_

On with the show!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was extremely happy. She had everything thing that she wanted, including FMA. All was good…until she woke up from her dream. 

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A year had passed since the first meeting between the Elric brothers and Miss Meitner. Every two weeks they would meet and discuss physics. The Elric brothers were getting closer and closer to their goal, and Miss Meitner was quite ecstatic that she got to work with such intelligent young men.

Whenever they went to town, Lamia would always bring baskets upon baskets that were filled with food, blankets, cigarettes, water, and everyday sort of things. She would always get back from the market with the baskets empty; this of course puzzled the Elric brothers.

They were so puzzled by Lamia's odd behavior that Ed almost burnt Al's hand with a highly concentrated base. After the mess was cleaned up Miss Meitner asked what was bothering them. They related their story to her and she became quite angry. When Lamia got back from one of her trips, Miss Meitner took her into the kitchen while the brothers sat in the living room. Ed and Al felt like they were kids again as they sat there and listened to the fight that pursued between the women. Eventually they came out of the kitchen, neither looking victorious. Lamia silently took her leave with Ed and Al in tow.

When they got back to Lamia's house, she went immediately to her bedroom. The two brothers then took their places at the kitchen table trying to figure out what happened at Miss Meitner's. They could not explain it and they felt absolutely awful for "snitching" on their friend.

All was silent until Lamia came out of her bedroom with a map and notebook in her arms. She carefully placed the notebook on her chair and rolled out the map on the table in front of Ed and Al. The map was of the Bermuda Islands and a triangle was drawn in red on the map.

Then Lamia spoke, "This," she pointed at the triangle, "is the Bermuda Triangle. Its waters are believed to be the most dangerous in the entire world. Ships, planes, and people go missing in there and all traces of their existence are wiped from the face of the earth. No one knows what goes on in the Bermuda Triangle that makes this phenomenon happen. It cannot be explained."

The brothers looked at each other and then at Lamia. She looked into their eyes and smiled softly.

"You are wondering why I am telling you this. Well…one day I wish to go there," Lamia said as she straightened up.

Ed's face contorted, "You want to go there? Why?"

Lamia giggled. "Well my parents always wanted to go there and I promised to meet them there someday. It is such a mystical place. I have been saving up my money for seven years now. This is my dream and I hope to fulfill it one day." Lamia said this as she brought out the notebook. She opened it and a wad of money could be seen sitting on top of the first page. "I am sorry that I kept that from you but no one else knows about it…please forgive me."

"Is that what you and Lise were fighting over?" Al asked.

Her face went sour as Lamia put away her things, "No, that is not important right now. Right now I have to fix dinner. We are having potato pancakes tonight."

And that was the end of that conversation. Sadly, by the time the Elric brothers found out what Miss Meitner and Lamia had been arguing about, it would be far too late to do anything.

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Lise and Ed were sitting at her table when the telephone rang. Al got up from the living room and answered it.

"Hello this is Alphonse Elric speaking. You have reached Miss Meitner's residence, how may I help you?" Al said.

"_Is Miss Meitner there right now?"_ The voice asked.

"Yes she is. Do you wish to speak to her?"Alphonse said as he looked at Miss Meitner, indicating that the call was for her.

She slowly got up as the caller said, _"Yes. Tell her it is Max von Laue calling."_

Alphonse handed Miss Meitner the phone after relaying the information. She nodded and proceeded to take the call. The brothers watched as her face paled. Solemnly, Lise hung up the phone. She turned to the two brothers and told them to quickly go home and pack up their things.

When asked why, Miss Meitner said that the Nazis had put out the order _Anschluss,_ which banned academics for Jews. This also meant that the Nazi party had more control over the area. If they wanted to survive then they needed to evacuate immediately.

As fast as they could, the Elric brothers gathered up their things. The cabs were running that day so the brothers ran towards Lamia's house. A sense of relief coursed through them when they saw the house and Lamia tending the garden outside.

Ed was the first to get there. He gasped, "La-lamia q-quickly. We need t-to leave."

A befuddled look crossed Lamia's face as she saw her two friends gasping for air in front of her.

"What? What do you mean leave? What happened? Are you all right?" Lamia asked as she stood up and wiped some dirt on her apron.

They couldn't stand there and wait any longer so Ed sprinted towards the door as Al grabbed Lamia's wrist and dragged her inside. The boys ran into their rooms and started to pack, as Lamia was left dumbfounded in the kitchen.

Suddenly, a knock was heard. Slowly, the brothers turned.

"Were you two expecting someone?" Lamia asked as she turned to open the door.

But before the brothers could answer, Nazi soldiers broke down the door. Everyone stood there in shock for what seemed like years.

Then they charged. The house was thrown into entropy as the soldiers broke everything in sight. Chairs were flying and dishes breaking. Some of the shards from the broken dishes hit flesh and Lamia started to bleed. Ed and Al were shouting and trying to get to her but they were blocked by the soldiers.

Lamia screamed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Lamia yelled as she grabbed one of the men and started to hit him with her fists. The soldiers turned on her and dragged her outside. All Lamia could do was scream since the men's grip was too tight to let her move.

Ed attempted to fight back but to no avail. An officer had already captured Al and threatened to kill him if Ed did not come willingly. He obeyed and they were led outside with their suit cases in tow.

The Nazi soldiers were lined up near the house. Ed and Al could see Lamia struggling to get away from her captors. She stopped moving when she made eye contact with Al.

When they were all lined up, a man came out of the line and approached Lamia. Immediately she began to struggle. The man growled and kicked Lamia hard in the stomach. A scream escaped from her lips as Lamia slumped in her captors arms.

It was Ed and Al's turn to struggle as Ed yelled, "HEY! Get your hands off her you creep! Let us go! LET US GO!"

With a wave of the officer's hand, another soldier came up to Ed and started to beat him.

Cries rang out from Lamia and Al but they were silenced with some kicks and punches from the other soldiers.

"Enough!" The officer ordered after a couple of minutes. The beatings stopped and the three people were left bleeding profusely. Lamia was the worst since she was not particularly used to such beatings.

Her face was all scratched up, a shiner was forming on her left eye, and she had gotten a nose bleed. She sniffled a little bit as the man pushed his face into hers.

The man roughly grabbed Lamia's face. He smiled evilly as he said, "I assume that you are Miss Grass?"

No reply came from Lamia who was too out of it to even realize that someone was talking to her.

"I asked you a question she-devil! Answer me!" the man spat. He slapped Lamia's face and then grabbed it again.

Sobs emitted from Lamia's throat as she tried to speak. She tried so hard but nothing would come out. Lamia wanted to yell that she was trying to answer him, but all that came out were gasps and sobs.

Again the man slapped her but again she could not say anything. Eventually she was able to nod. This satisfied the man but he still slapped her.

"Miss Grass, you have been charged with associating with Jews and aiding them in the ghettos. Our people have seen you come every two weeks with baskets upon baskets of supplies. You have given them food, clothing, and other essentials. This is treason against the state. You have also been charged with slave labor. You have corrupted these young men and made them do your bidding through the power of the devil. What do you have to say to that Miss Grass?" The man spat in Lamia's face.

She cringed. 'How can I deny truth? What am I going to do? What are they going to do with us? What are the- Wait a minute… they said that I possessed Edward and Alphonse. So does that mean that they will let them go?' Lamia thought as she slowly lifted her head to look at the man before her, 'Yes, it is worth a shot. I will protect them or I will die trying.'

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There was nothing he could do. Ed watched helplessly as Lamia was beaten for not answering the man before her. He wanted to help but he knew that rushing out to save her would only get them killed. They could not do this to him, they just couldn't. Haven't he and Al suffered enough? Why couldn't they just live a peaceful-somewhat-happy life?

By now the beatings had finished but when Ed heard the charges against Lamia something churned in his stomach. He threw up a little in his mouth and then it hit him.

'That is what Lamia and Miss Meitner were fighting about. Miss Meitner knew what Lamia was doing and what the consequences would be; she was trying to stop Lamia from giving up her life but Lamia obviously refused. UGH! Stupid Lamia! Why can't you look after yourself once in a while? STOP THINKING OF OTHERS!' Ed thought as he saw Lamia slowly lift her head.

A few seconds went by and then an evil grin started to form on Lamia's face. It suddenly turned into a full grown smirk.

"Hehehe. So, you caught me, now what? Are you going to crucify me? Burn me at the stake? I dare you to harm me. Hehehe. Nothing you can do will affect me." Lamia seethed as she glared at the man in front of her. Lamia's eyes widened for effect and began to speak in a different language, Ed recognized it to be Latin.

'What the hell is she doing?' Ed thought as the scene unfolded before him.

Lamia stood to her full height with her arms held behind her back. Blood oozed from her mouth due to internal injuries. Cuts and bruise adorned the flesh that could be seen. And all she did was laugh. She looked down on the Nazi commander and laughed. But this was not a jovial or light laugh, it was an evil poisoned sounding laugh; the laugh of a dying woman.

The man grew angry and started to slap Lamia as hard as he could but with each slap her laugh became louder and coarser. He gave up after a while and decided to talk to her. But Lamia spoke first.

"See? What did I tell you? Nothing affects me. The only way to get rid of me is to kill me but would you dare?" Lamia coaxed as her smirk grew and grew.

The man raised an eye brow. "Oh, really? Nothing affects you? Very well. Then we shall hurt your companions instead." He said as he turned towards Ed and Al.

Ed's eyes widened. He could not die here; he and Al had a mission to accomplish. They had people that depended upon their survival but somehow that thought was not as comforting as it should have been. Something in Lamia's eye told him that she agreed with him and now he was afraid of what she would do.

A scoff came from Lamia. This caught the man's attention and he turned to face her. "Go ahead and kill my Aryan pawns, I will just get more. You cannot stop me Nazi scum. Especially with the power of the fallen angel on my side." Lamia said as she looked at the man maniacally.

He looked crestfallen at her words. "Aryan? Do you only prey on the superior race, she-devil?"

"Of course you idiot. I hate Hitler and I might as well destroy his precious people while I am at it." Lamia started to cackle, "And there is nothing you can do to stop me."

It was the officer's turn to smirk. "Actually I think there is. We will make sure that these young men live while you wither in pain. Now it is time for you to die for your sins against the state," the man said as he raised his hand.

A group of soldiers came forth with torches. They walked up towards the house and threw the torches at it. Immediately the house caught on fire; everything burst into flames.

The light of the fire reflected in Lamia's hazel eyes as she watched her whole life burn in front of her. It was to protect her family and that is all the reason she needed in order for her to continue her charade.

Ed watched as Lamia's captor dragged her up to the roaring flames and threw her on the ground. He then roughly picked her up and turned her around to face everyone. The soldier ran out of the way as a firing squad lined up before her.

Al screamed and yelled but to no avail. The shock of what was happening was too much for Ed to comprehend, all he could do was watch.

Lamia smiled weakly at the two brothers and said, "Hush my little ones. Know that I love you and always will. Live your life and remember to be happy. And please, please never forget me." Tears rolled freely down Lamia's face as she looked into Alphonse and Edward's eyes.

An order to 'get ready' rang through the air.

Time stopped as Al and Ed yelled and screamed.

Tears streamed down Lamia's face.

"Aim!"

"PLEASE! STOP! PLEASE DON'T DO IT!!! STOP!!!! NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A smile graced her lips as she saw her family for the last time.

"FIRE!"

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LAMIAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Nothing. Her eyes became cold.

A thud rang through the air as Lamia's limp body fell to the ground. A pool of blood formed underneath her angelically small frame.

What happened next was all a blur. The two brothers felt something hard hit the back of their heads and they fell to the ground.

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Hours later, Ed woke up to someone shaking his shoulder.

"Mr. Elric? Mr. Elric wake up."

Slowly Ed opened his eyes. He saw the grey sky above him and clouds of black smoke. Suddenly his memories came rushing back to him. Ed quickly sat up and looked around.

A man in a brown suit was kneeling next to him while another person was tending to the fire.

The man next to him tried to help him up but Ed pushed him away. Slowly Ed got up but he fell. Instead of trying to get up this time Ed just crawled into the general direction of where he saw Lamia last. He finally found Al kneeling over a limp figure. Seeing this, Ed started to crawl faster and faster until he finally came up to Al and Lamia.

Al was holding Lamia's dead body close to his chest as he bawled. He kept whimpering and muttering about how he loved her and how she couldn't be dead. Ed reached out and touched her face. He immediately retracted his hand when he felt how cold and clammy her skin was.

Someone had closed her eyes but Ed could still see where Lamia's tears stained her face.

Ed's voice cracked as he asked, "Why? Why did this happen?" Before Ed could stop himself, tears started to fall onto Lamia's cold dead face.

It was like losing their mother all over again. Their hearts could not take it anymore.

The Elric brothers cried until the sun went down and the world plunged into darkness.

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Wasn't that a happy chapter?

Please enjoy and thank you Dantecell for being my beta reader!!!

I would also like to thank MangoSorbet who checked the grammar of the story!!

See ya next time!!

BONUS!!

_So I decided to do a tribute to the almost romance of Lamia and Alphonse. It is somewhat funny...not really…BUT I thought this would be nice after such a dark chapter. Please enjoy._

Alphonse was sitting at the kitchen table reading some essays by Isaac Newton when Lamia came through the front door. She was carrying a basket of vegetables and then put them on the counter. At the thump of the basket Al looked up.

When he saw Lamia he smiled. "Do you need any help Lamia?" Alphonse asked as he put his pencil down. He got out of his chair and walked over towards the sink.

"Sure Alphonse! You can help peel the potatoes," Lamia said as she handed Alphonse a potato and a knife.

Taking the knife in hand, Al attempted to peel the potato. Sadly he failed.

"Ow!" Blood started to ooze out of the little cut that Al had given himself.

Lamia looked over and chuckled. "Oh! Alphonse! Are you okay? Here let me help."

She took Alphonse's wounded finger and kissed it, saying, "There. How does it feel now?" As she looked up into Al's caramel eyes, a smile spread across her face.

Al smiled back at the girl and then kissed her cheek. He pulled back to see her blush and said, "Hmmmm I think I feel much better now. Thanks."

For the rest of the afternoon the two lovers peeled potatoes. But for some odd reason Alphonse kept nicking himself with his knife……..

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Ahmmmmmmm……..

Naughty little Alphonse.

Well I hoped you enjoyed it!!

I would like to thank dantecell for putting up with me and my pissyness and being my beta reader!!

I would also like to thank MangoSorbet for editing the grammar of this chapter. 

See ya later!!!!!!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone.

How are you?

So…I got some very nice reviews on chapter five. I am very happy that you liked it!!

I do feel sorry for Lamia but I think her death was very noble. Quite appropriate I dare say.

Dantecell is learning Latin right now so there will be some in this chapter because I feel like it and because Latin is such a fun language.

WARNING: There are flashbacks in this chapter so here is what I am going to do: _Flashbacks, "Speaking in flashback", and 'Thinking in flashback'. _**Latin. **_**Latin flashback.**_ (There will be translations at the end of the chapter so that means you have to read all of the way through!!!)

Well I hope you have fun!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was walking the streets of Chinatown when a person came up to her and said, "FMA Rights for only ten dolla." Atemu'sLotus stole this opportunity and bought the legal papers. When she looked at them later she found out that they were fake. Twas never meant to be.

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"_Hehehe. So, you caught me, now what? Are you going to crucify me? Burn me at the stake? I dare you to harm me. Hehehe. Nothing you can do will affect me." Lamia seethed as she glared at the man in front of her. Lamia's eyes widened for effect and began to speak in a different language; Ed recognized it to be Latin. _

"_**Dulce et decorum est pro familiā mori,**__" Lamia said to the officer and yet Ed knew it was for him._

'_What the hell is she doing?' Ed thought as the scene unfolded before him. _

"_Edward please take care of Alphonse. Do not mourn for me since I was meant to die here. I take pride in dying for you. I love you both. Please achieve your goal and maybe someday I will see you at the Bermuda Triangle. Thank you and goodbye." Lamia chanted as she looked at the officer before her._

The horizon began to waiver as the sky turned rainbow colors. Everyone started to fade away into the darkness while Ed just stood there, watching. Tried as he might, he could not move. He saw Lamia contort and stare at him. She moved her mouth but nothing came out. Ed began to run then. He tried to catch up to Lamia just like when he tried to get Alphonse back from the Gate. But no matter how far he stretched Ed could never reach Lamia's hand. Her screams and pleas of mercy rang through his ears and he could do nothing about it.

Why?

Why was this happening?

It was all happening so fast! Colors were swirling, people were shouting, Ed's head was pounding.

He reached out and almost grabbed Lamia's hand but it slipped. If he could just reach a little farther, just a little…… 'Gotcha!' Ed shouted as he grasped Lamia's hand. Her body went limp and started to blow away. 'NO! LAMIA NO!!!!' Ed screamed as her corpse wisped away into dust in front of him. There was nothing he could do. Nothing. NOTHING!!SO FAST!! SO FAST!! IT WAS HAPPENING SO FAST!! 'HELP ME! LAMIA HELP ME!!! LAMIA!!'

"LAMIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ed jumped as he woke out of his nightmare. Sweat layered his face as he looked around his office. Everything was still in place and Ed sighed, "It was just a nightmare."

A piece of paper got stuck to his face while he was sleeping and he slowly peeled it off. 'What time is it?' Ed wondered as he searched his messy desk. After removing many piles of paper he finally found it. The clock read, "5:00 pm? That late?" Ed asked no one.

Just a few hours ago Ed was reading and writing in his journal. He was going over Lamia's last words for the hundredth time and he still could not believe it. The shock of losing her still affected him to this day.

There would be times were he would smell stew cooking in the kitchen and he would run to the source of the aroma only to find Alphonse, not Lamia, by the stove. Sometimes Ed would walk into a travel agency and look at the prices of tickets to Bermuda, just to see how much the price increased over the years. Lamia's attitude toward life and people had stuck with him. So far Ed has at least eight gardens that he uses to make food for local soup kitchens. Her generosity was passed down as well since Edward had, by now donated over a million dollars to charities, in honor of his courageous self-adopted sister. In fact the minute Edward and Alphonse dropped dead, all of the charities would get the brothers' fortune and their stocks.

Edward's thoughts led him to his little brother. He sighed, "Alphonse," Edward shook his head, "Alphonse." Things were different when it came to Alphonse.

Alphonse was never the same after the brutal murder of Lamia. Often Al would sigh and look up to the sky as if he was searching for something…or someone. In their adventures many of the women they met swooned over Alphonse's kind nature but he just ignored them.

If Ed could not get home in time then stew would automatically be for dinner. It was as if the stew brought Lamia back for Alphonse. Nothing that Ed did or say could bring Alphonse out of his stupor.

There was a complete reversal of roles. Instead of Ed being the recluse Al was and Ed became the talkative one. It was hard at first but Ed had gotten used to it. By no means had he become better in relating to or talking with people but at least now he acknowledged their presence. Numerous diplomats tried to "hook up" the brothers but their hearts were all ready taken. The bond between the brothers deepened because they shared the same pain. Both lost their love one but only Ed had lost twice.

This revelation made Al think about parallel universes and the possibility of a Lamia double in Amestris. Sometimes he would dream of meeting her on the other side. She would run up to him, hug him, and then they would finally kiss. Alphonse never did get the chance to kiss his sweetheart because he always wanted to have the 'right moment'. Only later on did Al regret his romantic decision. These daydreams brought Al comfort so he would indulge in them for hours on end but as much as it brought him comfort it also brought despair. There was no way to get back to Amestris and even if there was, there was guarantee that a Lamia double existed.

At one time Al spoke of his theory to Ed but Ed immediately dismissed it. He could not bear to think of it for then that would give him hope, a hope that truly did not exist.

So there Ed sat, decades after the Lamia's passing, reading over his notes. When Lamia spoke in Latin that day Ed made sure that he memorized it so later on he could translate her message. He did not know if it would be relevant but the look on her face so long ago made him believe that there was a chance that she said something significant. And she did.

Lamia gave one last piece of advice before she died and Edward read it every day. He did not know why but Ed thought that Lamia was trying to tell him something, something hidden underneath the loving message she left behind.

Edward researched the Bermuda Triangle in his free time and found it quite interesting. It was as if Lamia had not planned the trip for herself but for Ed and Al. After they had snuffed out the burning house that was Lamia's home, they had found her notebook and suitcase full of maps still intact. Indeed they were charred but still readable and the money still usable. Ed, Al, and Miss Meitner left the country separately but they still kept in touch and eventually worked on the Manhattan Project together.

The Elric brothers joined the Manhattan Project hoping that they would somehow deter the use of the lethal object. Warning after warning the Elric brothers pleaded with Franklin Roosevelt to cease the project. But once again there was nothing that the brother could do. When President Roosevelt died Ed and Al believed that the project was over. Wrong. President Truman became the brother's best friend but he still continued the project. The decision to drop the bomb was a hard one. Ed and Al saw the look on Truman's face when the decision was made. They sympathized with him but what could they do? The only thing that they agreed on then was that the decision made would change the world.

Naturally the bomb killed innocent people and Truman was devastated. The President began to have more and more sleepless nights. Eventually the decision killed him. Another friend of the brother's died.

They became distant then. Of course they were not that talkative or interactive before but Truman's death was the last straw. Edward and Alphonse went to all of the formal events but only because they were being polite. When the brothers would arrive to a formal event they would immediately go to the bar and get a drink. After that they would sit at their table and perform the duties that society had laid out for them, greetings were exchanged and new political figures were met and dismissed. Boring, but at least it got them out the house. Few diplomats would venture to make a real conversation with the brothers. Ed and Al just gave off the vibe of 'Leave me alone and I will not humiliate you.' As such no one talked to them if they were not spoken to first.

And then an actor became President. President Reagan was a very nice man but he did not know the boundaries when it came to the Elric brothers. Many a time the whole room became silent when President Reagan would start to converse with them. At first Ed would tell him off by just staring blankly at the President but after the five interruptions Ed clearly stated, "**Te audire non possum, musa sapientum fixa est in aura**." Those who knew Latin chuckled a bit and then returned to their own business. But the President persisted.

Edward had decided to actually talk to President Reagan the next time that he saw him. The reason being that Ed had come to respect the man. Anyone who kept talking to an unresponsive person was an extremely stubborn and proud man. Much like Ed himself, when he was younger.

The door to Ed's office opened and a head popped in. "Mr. Elric?" the young maid said as she looked at the floor.

"That is the floor, Miss Thoral, Mr. Elric is currently sitting at his desk. " Ed frankly stated as he put down his pen to look at the girl. She stumbled a little bit and then looked at Ed in the eye.

"S-sorry Mr. Elric. Um…..It is five thirty and you still need to get ready for the party at the White House which is at seven."

Waving his hand Ed said, "Yes, thank you. No need to inform my brother, I will go get him. And please have the car pulled around to the front of the house by quarter after six. Have a nice night Miss Thoral."

She nodded and then silently left the room, rushing down the hallway to fill out her duties.

After Miss Thoral left, Ed sighed and slowly stood up. He stretched a bit and scratched his stomach as he gazed around his room before he left to find Alphonse. Usually he would be in the library, not reading but just sitting there looking out the window. And so Ed started his journey to the library. As he walked his mind wondered to the night ahead. Diplomats would speak to him and he would evade them as usual but…in truth he WANTED them to be intrusive. Ed wanted people to care about his existence again and that is just what President Reagan did. The President's interest in the brothers made Edward happy. It made him feel like he was still a part of this world, no matter how much he wanted to leave.

Over time Ed had gotten over the fact that they could never go home but that did not mean that he totally forgot about it. At night Ed would dream of his home world and all of its' loving people. More so than lately. His dreams have taken him over and Ed could not stop them. He could see the toll that they were having on his body. The servants subtly point this out by giving him healthy food and let him sleep in more often. Of course he noticed these changes but he did let it bother him. In fact he was more worried about Al.

Edward opened the library door and stepped in. It was a two story room with books of all color, size, and genres crammed into every nook-and-cranny. Elegant comfy chairs surrounded the chimney that was in the middle of the room. Sitting in one of the chairs was Alphonse. No really knew how he did it but Al could stare into the fire for hours on end without moving one inch; except for his older brother, Ed knew that Al was just resorting back to those four years in the armor and sitting there when everyone else was asleep. It troubled Ed but he did not let Al know.

Slowly and carefully Ed walked over to Al. Grabbing Al's shoulder lightly Ed said, "Hey, hey Al, it is time to get ready for the dinner tonight. Come on, let's go." Alphonse responded with a nod and got up. After a half an hour the brothers were ready and left for the dinner. When they took their seats they looked at their surroundings.

"Huh," Ed said as he took a sip of his scotch on the rocks, "I don't see Mr. Please-talk-to-me-because-I-will-keep-talking-no-matter-what. Wonder where he is. Do you see him Al?"

"Actually I am right behind you Mr. Elric."

Edward turned around to see the President and his First Lady. For the first time in a long time Ed smirked. "So you are. And how is the First Lady doing this fine evening?" Edward asked as he stood to take her hand and kiss it.

"Quite well, thank you Mr. Elric. And how are you doing?"

"Well, I woke up this morning so that should account for something." Ed chuckled as he sat back down and looked at his brother. Al did not respond. He just sat there and looked into the distance.

The screeching of a chair could be heard as President Reagan sat down next to Alphonse. "Hello, Mr. Elric. And how are we this fine day?" President Reagan asked Alphonse. Again he did not respond.

A sigh emitted from Edward as he finished his drink. This caught the President's attention. President Reagan observed Ed for a moment. He saw the bags under Edward's eyes and the wrinkles that layered his brow, he looked tired, he looked beaten and President Reagan felt sorry for him. Then he thought of something.

"Have you ever been on a vacation?" President Reagan asked the elder Elric. Immediately Ed's eyes shot open.

Edward glared as he growled, "No, I have never been on vacation. People need me here. They always have and always will. Are you trying to get rid of me Mr. President? Am I useless in your eyes?"

The room went silent. No one had ever provoked Ed's true wrath before, anyone that had was dead by now from old age. It did not matter how much power that the President possessed nothing could compare to Ed's connections. He knew a powerful person on every continent and was held in high favor with the United Nations. Edward Elric was a powerful man and no one, NO ONE got on his bad side. All eyes were on the President who looked shocked at the outburst.

"N-no Mr. Elric you misunderstood me. I was just wondering whether or not you had anytime off since you started your job. If not I would gladly suggest to take my plane to California for some days in the sun. It just looks like you can use a break Mr. Elric. I was not trying to insult you in any way." President Reagan confessed in one breath.

Edward's shoulders relaxed a bit as he thought it over. 'Vacation…… Vacation. V-a-c-a-t-i-o-n …Vacation. Al and I could use some time off. I have been meaning for some time to ourselves, just us brothers, without the world and its problems. Should I? Should WE go on vacation? Can we really let ourselves relax after all we have been through?' While Ed pondered this he looked towards his brother. And then something amazing happened.

Alphonse spoke.

"Let's go to the Bermuda Triangle brother. Lamia would have wanted us to go. We can take your private plane if you want, instead of being flown there by someone. What do you say brother?"

Alphonse looked up at that point and looked at Ed in the eyes. Everyone else in the room froze. It was rare that Alphonse would say "Hi" or "Hello" to someone, but to say FOUR whole sentences was a feat indeed. They all looked towards Ed, hanging onto his every word.

At first Ed just stared at his brother in shock but then his shoulders relaxed entirely. He smiled the biggest smile that anyone had seen and said, "Sure Al. If it would make you happy then we should go on vacation. We should go home and start to pack as soon as possible," he turned around and started to walk out, "Bermuda Triangle here we come!"

Alphonse jumped up and scurried after his brother as he left a whole ballroom full of flabbergasted people. It was then that they realized how much of a pushover Edward Elric was when it came to his younger brother.

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So? What do you think? Yes I know it is short but I want it to be short because it was just supposed to fill you in.

I am sorry that it took me so long but…..okay I have no excuse but I am sorry.

Please enjoy!

Thank you MangoSorbet and Dantecell!!!!

Bonus!

"_Hehehe. So, you caught me, now what? Are you going to crucify me? Burn me at the stake? I dare you to harm me. Hehehe. Nothing you can do will affect me." Lamia seethed as she glared at the man in front of her. Lamia's eyes widened for effect and began to speak in a different language; Ed recognized it to be Latin. _

"_**Dulce et decorum est pro familia mori,**__" Lamia said to the officer and yet Ed knew it was for him._

'_What the hell is she doing?' Ed thought as the scene unfolded before him. _

"_Edward please take care of Alphonse. Do not mourn for me since I was meant to die here. I take pride in dying for you. I love you both. Please achieve your goal and maybe someday I will see you at the Bermuda Triangle. Thank you and goodbye." Lamia chanted as she looked at the officer before her._

The horizon began to waiver as the sky turned rainbow colors. Everyone started to fade away into the darkness while Ed just stood there, watching. Tried as he might, he could not move. He saw Lamia contort and stare at him. She moved her mouth but nothing came out. Ed began to run then. He tried to catch up to Lamia just like when he tried to get Alphonse back from the Gate. But no matter how far he stretched Ed could never reach Lamia's hand. Her screams and pleas of mercy rang through his ears and he could do nothing about it.

Why?

Why was this happening?

It was all happening so fast!!Colors were swirling, people were shouting, Ed's head was pounding.

He reached out and almost grabbed Lamia's hand but it slipped. If he could just reach a little farther, just a little…… 'Gotcha!' Ed shouted as he grasped Lamia's hand. Her body went limp and started to blow away. 'NO! LAMIA NO!!!!' Ed screamed as her corpse wisped away into dust in front of him. There was nothing he could do. Nothing. NOTHING!!!SO FAST!! SO FAST!!! IT WAS HAPPENING SO FAST!! 'HELP ME! LAMIA HELP ME!!! LAMIA!!'

"LAMIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ed jumped as he woke out of his nightmare. Sweat layered his face as he looked around his office. A plate of half-eaten salami and pineapple sat in the middle of his desk. Everything was still in place and Ed sighed, "It was just a nightmare. Dang no more salami and pineapple before bed time, it gives me more nightmares than the dancing platypuses."

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Thanks and please enjoy!!!!

Translations:

It is an honor to die for one's family.

I can't hear you I have a banana stuck in my ear.


	7. Chapter 7

İHola!

How is everyone today? That is good.

Now this is the chapter where things get interesting!!

I am so excited but I must ask that you not kill me since…never mind, you will find out soon enough.

**Oh! And Edward's foul mouth shows its true colors in this chapter so WATCH OUT!!**

Please enjoy!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was sitting there in her living room on her laptop. Then the magical fairy of disbelief appeared and granted her nothing. Duh. If it was true she would not be writing this crap. (Dantecell!! I am sorry folks but Dantecell took over my computer…Actually I like that disclaimer so, ON WITH THE SHOW!!)

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It did not take long for the brothers to pack their things. Being men and old men at that fact, they were very scarce in what they brought until their servants found out. Miss Thoral was inspecting their suitcase, not suitcases, and decided that it was all wrong. The rest of the serving staff agreed and repacked everything. In the end, the brothers had to take three suitcases with them on the plane. No amount of whining or yelling could make the staff budge from their position. The Elric brothers were taking three suitcases and that was it; no more, no less.

Of course Ed argued that he did not want to carry three suitcases with him but the staff was all ready prepared for that and set up services that would carry their masters' luggage.

Besides these minor arguments, everyone was quite happy. For the first time ever Alphonse Elric was talking. He had pleasant conversations with Miss Thoral in which he usually calmed down her nerves after a brief encounter with Ed. It was such a pleasant surprise that the serving staff tried to run into Young Master Elric 'by accident', as often as they could.

Alphonse no longer stayed in the library but instead roamed the grounds. He had realized that he never really took the time to actually look or even know his new home in the United States. As time went by he saw how beautiful their house was and how nice all of the servants were. There would be times where Al would find Ed teasing a servant and Al would come to their rescue. Miss Thoral was a prime target for Ed's ridicule since she flustered so easily. It was later on that Al found out that Miss Thoral was the only servant that Ed actually trusted. He noticed this one day during a conversation, well more like an argument between Ed and the serving staff.

_Ed and Al were sitting on opposite ends of a long dining table. In between the two brothers, near the wall, stood the serving staff which consisted of ten people on each side of the table. A disgruntled look was pasted to the elder brother's face as he listened to the people around him. Al just sat there watching the scene unfold but adding his input when needed._

"_Masters Elric," the cook began, "what are you going to be eating while you are both on this trip? Both of our masters know that they have strict diets. If you were to eat something-" _

"_Something edible? So far all that I have been eating is this green organic crap. What's it to you if we actually eat something tasty? Like apple pie? I have not had apple pie in the longest time." Ed retorted while crossing his arms._

_The cook stood there aghast. It was the visiting nurse's turn to talk._

"_Because we care what happens to the Master Edward and Master Alphonse, that's why. You both need to stick to your diets if you want to live past a hundred." She said as she placed her hands on her hips._

_Al was shocked, "Could we really live to be a hundred years old Mrs. Filtin?"_

_Mrs. Filtin smiled kindly at him. "Of course Mr. Elric, if your older brother would listen to reason then maybe you two could survive this trip."_

_Ed slammed his right hand on the table, making a loud thump. For some reason unknown to the staff that hand all ways made a louder noise then his left one. This also happened whenever he stomped his left foot and it made a louder sound then his right._

"_Do not insult my intelligence! We will be fine. I will fly us down there and we will travel through the Bermuda Triangle for a month. Everything will be fine, the way WE planned it, NOT you." Ed growled as he glared at his servants. _

_Al interceded before anymore could be said, "Brother! Be polite! They were only trying to help us. And are you sure that you can fly a plane for a whole month? Isn't there an age limit?"_

_All of the servants sighed. They were all grateful that Master Alphonse started speak because only he would defend them against Ed. Do not get them wrong, they adored their Master Edward but sometimes he was too stubborn for his own good. _

_Ed seethed at his little brother, "Of course I can fly for that long! I am not THAT old, dang it!"_

_A squeak was heard from near Master Edward. All of the heads in the room turned to stare at Miss Thoral. She jumped at the sudden attention but then calmed down a little and began to speak, "B-but Mr. Elric, we were only worried for you and your brother. Please, we did not mean to insult you only to help you. Please let us help you." Miss Thoral then looked down and clasped her hands together in front of her. _

_Something softened in Ed's eyes. Alphonse noticed this and then looked at Miss Thoral, immediately he was reminded of Lamia and her passive nature. The sound of Ed's voice awoke Al from his thoughts of the red head._

"_Fine. Cater to us like a bunch of children. Never had a normal childhood anyway, might as well have one right now." Ed stated gruffly as he picked up his fork and stuffed a huge piece of lettuce in his mouth. _

_Everyone smiled and went back to their business. _

Alphonse smiled at the memory as they walked towards the car. The serving staff waved goodbye on the porch. As Al was getting in, Ed turned to look back at his staff. He shoved his bag in the back seat and said, "Be right back." Ed then walked back up to the porch.

"I know I have been a pain in ass over the years and I appreciate that you stayed with me through it all. If we do not come back from this trip," Ed raised his hand to silence the staff from responding to his statement, "it will not be any surprise to us since many people go missing in the Bermuda Triangle and are never heard of again. Personally I would like to die like that since it means I died on an adventure. So if we do not return, just know that we are happy and that all of you still have jobs, I made sure of that in my will. Well, goodbye then."

Everyone stood there shocked at Edward's speech. Miss Thoral was the first to come out of her daze. "Be careful!" She shouted. Ed turned to see his favorite servant for the last time, unbeknownst to him. He smiled, waved, and then joined his younger brother in the back seat.

---------------------------------------------

The last conversation of the Elric brothers still rang in the control tower. If it was not under such grievous circumstances then they probably would be rolling on the floor from laughter. But they were gone. The infamous Elric brothers were gone, lost, never to be seen again.

Instinct took over and the control tower called the Elric residence to notify any family that the Elric brothers were now lost. Shouts and crying could be heard from the other end of the line. Never had the control center had to inform servants who reacted so violently to the news of their masters' deaths. Sure they were upset and then panic would set in on the stability of their jobs, but not these servants. These servants actually cried and cared for their masters' deaths and not once did they mention their jobs.

This reaction made the people at the control tower feel even worse about the situation. How could this happen? How could the infamous Elric brothers do this to them? Why did they have to go through the Bermuda Triangle? Why?

"There is still some hope men," the Commander said, "Replay their last message and see if we can figure out where they crashed."

All the men turned back to their stations and put on their headphones. One of them pressed numerous buttons on his key board and then turned a knob to raise the volume. The speaker system turned on and they all listened to the message to see if there was anything that they could hear that would give them a clue to where the two brothers were. This of course was a lost cause but they needed to try, they had to.

"_This is Trisha 42 reporting in to Command Tower in San Juan. Over."_

"_This is Command Tower in San Juan, hear you loud and clear Trisha 42. Over."_

"_How is the weather? If it sucks, we are going back to Santo Domingo. Over."_

"_Ha-ha. The weather is fine over here Mr. Elric, you are safe to come. Over."_

"_All right. Well then we will be there in a few hours. Over."_

"_Roger that. What is your current position Trisha 42? Over."_

"_We are two hours north of your current position. Over."_

"_Two hours north? That would mean that you are in the Bermuda Triangle."_

"_Indeed it would. Over."_

"_Mr. Elric, you need to get out of there right now. The Bermuda Triangle has already claimed two planes this year. And countless lives in the past. If you value your life, sir, get out of there immediately. Over."_

"_Nah, I like the view from here. Over."_

"_Sir this is insane. I order you to get out of there right now. Over."_

"_I did not realize that I was in the military again. I take orders from no one; it would be good that you remember that. The main reason my brother and I went on this trip was to go through the Bermuda Triangle. It would be pointless to turn back now. Over."_

"_Sir please-"_

"_We are staying on course and that is final. Over."_

"_Brother? Brother what is that?"_

"_What is what? I do not see anything."_

"_Brother I think there is something out there!"_

"_No there isn't. You are just getting senile, we are fine."_

"_I am not getting senile! You're getting senile brother! Something is out there and you need to do something about it!"_

"_Don't you dare call me senile! Who is flying this plane? You or me? We are fine so shut up and enjoy the ride."_

"_Currently you are flying this plane brother but if you do not do something soon there will be no plane to fly."_

"_Bullshit. The plane is fine and there is nothing out there."_

"_Brother! Don't swear at me! Are you calling me a liar?"_

"_What?! No! I am not calling you a liar! I was just saying-"_

"_What? What were you saying brother? Were you saying that you believe me and that there is something out there? Is that what you were saying? Because I did not hear that."_

"_Dang it Al! I liked you better when you were quiet!"_

"_Really? So now you hate my voice?"_

"_Argh! You know what?"_

"_What?"_

"_Shut up! I can't remember when you were this annoying!"_

"_You shut up brother! Or did you like it when I was mute?"_

"_You wanna know the truth?"_

"_Yeah!"_

"_A suit of armor was more interesting then you when you wouldn't speak!"_

"_::gasp:: Well it is better than picking on innocent Miss Thoral!"_

"_I did not pick on her!"_

"_Yes you did."_

"_No I didn't."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_Gentlemen! Would both of you be quiet and tell me your current position? Over."_

"_Hmph. Fine, but this isn't over."_

"_You bet it isn't."_

"_Must you all ways have the last word?"_

"…_.Yes."_

"_ARGH! Wait. What the hell is that?"_

"_I told you! I told you that there was something out there!"_

"_Shut up. What is that?"_

"_It's a UFO!!"_

"_Shut up!! It is not a UFO! You have been hanging around Scheiska too much!! There are no such things as aliens or UFOs!!"_

"_Yes there is! There is one right there!"_

"_I do not see anything resembling a UFO."_

"_That's because you are as blind as a bat."_

"_Shut up! No I am not!"_

"_Yes you are! If you weren't then you would see that UF… Where did it go?"_

"_Ha! So it wasn't there! Ahahahahaha- Wait. Argh!"_

"_What? What is it brother? What-"_

"_AHH!!!"_

"_Trisha 42? Trisha 42? What's wrong? What's happening?"_

"_WE ARE LOSING ALTITUDE! I REPEAT, WE ARE LOSING ALTITUDE!"_

"_PULL ON THE STICK THINGY BROTHER!!!"_

"_I AM! I AM! BUT IT'S NOT MOVING! IT'S NOT-"_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

_Static._

"_Trisha 42? Can you hear me? I repeat, Trisha 42 can you hear me? Anyone? Mr. Elric? Anyone? Oh, God. Please, please answer me. Hello? Trisha 42 can you hear me?"_

_Static._

"_Oh, God. We lost them. We lost the Elric brothers."_

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Water. There was water everywhere. He needed to breathe. Ed swam with all of his might to what he thought would be the surface. When he broke the water and entered the realm of air again, he gasped. Coughing , Ed tried to figure out what happened. 'Wait a second. I feel weird.' Ed thought as he looked around.

"What the hell?!?!" Ed yelled as he looked down, not to see his aged body. but his body from over fifty years ago. He was in his twenty-year old body but he still had all of his memories from eighty years of living. What was going on? Al. Where was Al?

"Al? AL? AL WHERE ARE YOU??" Ed yelled as he frantically searched the surrounding waters. A tuft of sandy hair could be seen a few feet away. As Ed swam towards Al's limp figure he noticed how Al was in his nineteen year old body. 'What the hell is going on?'

When Ed reached Al he grabbed his younger brother and began to swim towards a light. He assumed that the light either came from a vessel or land so he swam as fast and as hard as he could towards the welcoming beacon. After a couple of minutes he felt land underneath his feet. Ed quickly ran up the beach and collapsed next to his younger brother.

"Al? Al can you hear me?" Ed asked as he slowly lifted himself up. He checked Al's vitals and sighed a breath of relief when he saw that his brother was merely unconscious and not dead. Ed fell back onto the sand and fell asleep…for two minutes. Gruff voices were approaching the brothers, and fast. At first Ed thought that this would be a good thing but then he remembered that he did not look like his old self anymore. How were they going to recognize him?

Panic took over until he heard one of the men say, "Look! Bodies on the beach!"

"Who are they?" One of them said as they ran over to the brothers.

The footsteps stopped. "Wait. They're not from around here. They're Amestrian! Quick go get the guns! We've got ourselves some ransom boys! Quickly, before they wake up!!"

'Amestrian? How did these people know about-'

Ed's eyes shot open as he sat up. He quickly looked towards the voices and noticed that there were five to seven well built men. All of them were turned around, focusing on the one who was gathering the weapons. As fast as he could Ed stood and picked up Al fireman style. After that he ran like there was no tomorrow. He had no clue where he was running to, but as long as he and Al were away from those men Ed did not care.

The men noticed the sudden movement and began to shout. Gun shots could be heard but Ed just ran faster and faster. A few bullets hit their targets. One lodged into Al's arm and grazed his cheek while one decided to hit Ed's left leg, arm, and right thigh. A shout escaped from Ed's lips as he fell down an unforeseen cliff. Rocks and branches clung to his flesh as he tumbled down the steep slope.

When they reached the bottom they rolled into a miniature cave. Al hit his head up against a rock and Ed flew up against the cavern wall. With a groan he got up but fell again so Ed crawled over to Alphonse. He brought his brother's head onto his lap and stroked his face saying, "Al? Al? Al can you hear me? Please Al. Please respond. Please." Ed lowered his head and the brothers' foreheads touched while Ed mentally wept. He could not lose his brother. Not now. Not ever.

"Hello? Hello, are you all right?" A soft voice asked.

Slowly Ed lifted his head. A strange sensation surged through him and he realized he was about to faint but he looked to the source of the voice.

It was a young woman down on all fours. It was raining out and mud began to form underneath the three forms.

Ed looked a little more closely and gasped.

"Lamia?"

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Da da duh!!!

The plot thickens!!

So that is it for now. I hope you like it!!

Sorry for the cliff hanger but I wanted it to end like that! Yes, I am evil but TOO bad!!

Thank you Dantecell and MangoSorbet! They are my lovely beta readers!!

BONUS

"_It's a UFO!!"_

"_Shut up!! It is not a UFO! You have been hanging around Scheiska too much!! There are no such things as aliens or UFOs!!"_

"_Yes there is! There is one right there!"_

"_I do not see anything resembling a UFO."_

"_That's because you are as blind as a bat."_

"_OMG! It is a UFO!! AAHHH RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!!"_

"_Ummm….. Brother?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_We can't run away, we are in a plane."_

"_Great. Well, we're screwed."_

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Please enjoy!

See ya later!!


	8. Chapter 8

Ummm…..Hello.

:cough: So…….I forgot to mention why I updated so quickly for chapters six and seven. There was no way that I could have updated during the Christmas break because of mi familia AND I do not possess Wi-Fi. :shrugs: Yeah, kinda sucks.

But I did leave you with that lovely cliffhanger! I was thinking of starting this chapter with a little bit of Roy or Winry, just to be cruel. You know what I mean? Then I visualized the reaction I would get and I have decided to live and start out how I wanted to…with a flash back! MWAHAHAHA!!! (Please don't kill me, MangoSorbet!!)

On with the show!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was watering her plant of FMA rights when these evil men in black suits came. They strangled the beautiful plant and it died. I guess FMA's rights were never meant to be Atemu'sLotus'. Sniff.

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_Ed was pulling as hard as he could on the stick that steered the plane. But by some supernatural force it would not budge. _

'_It was moving perfectly before this, so why the hell isn't it working now?!?!' Ed screamed in his head._

'Because I need you Edward Elric.'

'_What? Who the hell was that?'_

"_PULL ON THE STICK THINGY BROTHER!!!" Al pleaded as he grabbed Ed's right arm and shook it._

_Ed shouted back ,"I AM! I AM!" while jostling the stick as hard as he could, "BUT IT'S NOT MOVING! IT'S NOT-"_

_Suddenly, the rough waters below could be seen approaching at a rapid rate; it scared the brothers senseless. Al began to shake Ed more, while Ed broke the stick with his automail arm. A blinding yellow light shown out of the water and the brothers screamed._

_The freezing cold water enveloped the two old men. But Ed would not die so easily so he kicked the window with his left foot. Although the water did slow down his leg, the impact was still hard enough to break the glass. Ed grabbed Al and shoved him out of the plane then Ed followed. Once they were out of the sinking plane the brothers watched as it fell towards the light._

_Finally, they were safe; everything seemed fine until Ed realized that he was sinking. His heavy automail was pulling him downward. Sinking, that's all he could do. Sink. A warm hand gripped his right arm and Ed looked up. Alphonse was pulling up on his brother, trying to save him but it did no good. Instead of going up the two wizened men went downwards._

_Ed looked towards the light and almost choked. A transmutation circle. The light was a transmutation circle._

'_What the hell?' Ed thought but then he decided to try something._

'Yes, use alchemy. Do it. You know you want to.'

_He looked up at Al and then pointed at the light. Al's eyes widened when he scrutinized the light that Ed was pointing at. He looked at Ed and then both brothers nodded._

'Yes, yes. Use alchemy on it. Take yourselves back to where you belong. Bring yourselves to me. Do it. Do it now!'

_Alphonse let go of Ed and then clapped his hands along with his older brother. The electricity from the reaction shocked the water. _

_The world went black._

_There he was again. How many times has he been in front of The Gate? Ed had lost count but it did not stop him from being pissed off. Was he dead? Was he alive? What happened after he and Al used alchemy?_

_Ed looked around for Alphonse. He did not have to look far since Al was on his right. Noticing that Ed was staring at him, Al looked at his older brother and then shrugged._

"_Why are we here brother?" Al asked._

_But Ed was not quick enough, someone else answered for him._

"_You are at The Gate because you used alchemy on the Bermuda Triangle. I must say that is a first."_

_They whirled around to see nothing but blank space. _

'_Where did the voice come from?' Ed thought._

"_The voice came from The Gate in front of you, Edward," the voice stated smugly._

_Ed and Al's eyes widened. They stared at The Gate to see if it would speak again but after a couple of seconds Ed got tired of waiting and began to yell._

"_How the hel-"_

"_Oh, I know everything Edward. In fact, I know that you want to go home to a certain blonde, isn't that correct?" The Gate asked in full knowledge of what the answer was._

_At the subtle mention of Winry, Ed seethed. "Don't you dare speak of her."_

"_Hmph. I speak of who I choose; I refuse to take orders from a mere human," The Gate stated, "But on to more important things; You boys interrupted me again for the umpteenth time. What possessed you to use alchemy of all things on the Bermuda Triangle?"_

_The brothers looked at each other. How the hell should they know? Maybe it was because they saw the transmutation circle. Or maybe it was because they heard this little voice telling them to use alchemy. _

"_A little voice hmmm? A little voice told you to use alchemy? That's odd. I didn't send anyone to help you. Who could hav- Oh……._him_." The Gate seemed to pause to think for a bit. After a few seconds The Gate spoke as it opened up. "Well, it looks like you get to go through but your toll will be collected later. Meanwhile get rid of _him_ for me will you? Enjoy your freedom and see you soon, very soon."_

_The brothers were grabbed by the millions of little hands and pulled into The Gate._

"_WAIT! WHO IS _HIM_???"Ed yelled before he went back into darkness, "WHO IS _HIMMMMMMMM_?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"_

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Ed quickly opened his eyes and sat up, an action he regretted the second that he did it. With a moan, Ed laid back down onto the comfy bed. After waking up from a dream of what happened before he was thrown back onto his side of The Gate, Ed began to rub his head. He still wondered who The Gate was talking about but right now he had more important things on his mind. One of them would be finding out whether Al survived or not, and the other would be-

'Wait a second. Comfy bed?' Ed opened his eyes again and looked around.

Yep, he was lying in a comfy bed and he could see Alphonse lying in another bed on his left. Al was alive! Badly beaten by the looks of it but alive and this made Ed smile.

"Oh! Your awake, that's good. How are you feeling?" A soft voice asked.

Ed tried to look at the source of the voice but it was past his line of vision.

Suddenly a smiling young woman appeared by his side and asked, "Well? Are you feeling a little bit better?"

Lamia. Lamia was standing right beside Edward. At least the young woman looked like Lamia but her eyes were red instead of her hair, her hair was white instead of her skin, and her skin was light brown instead of her eyes.

'This girl is Ishbalan! What is an Ishbalan doing helping an Amestrian?' Ed wondered but then stopped when he realized that, 'Lamia didn't care who you were as long as you needed help. That was the way she thought in Germany and it doesn't change no matter what dimension she is in. But that's what got her killed last time! No!! I can't let her die! Not again!!' The last thought made Ed panic and his breathing became staggered.

The young woman's face contorted into worry. She touched Ed's forehead and began to shush him in order to soothe him.

"Shhhhshshshhh," she cooed, "hey, its okay. You're safe now. Those men won't come for you here. You and your companion are safe. Shhhhshshshhh." She stroked Ed's face and then noticed that his sheets were moved. The young woman tucked Ed in with extra care so as to not touch any of his wounds. "There we go," she said as she finished and gently patted his bandages, "Now doesn't that feel better? Hmmm? Shhhhshshshhh, everything will be all right. Okay?"

Ed looked into those familiar eyes and the urge to cry raced through his body. 'She's here! Lamia's here! We have another chance to get this right!! I can't believe we got this lucky break, for once. I'm so happy. Thank you whatever god there is out there, thank you,' Ed thought while weakly nodding at the young woman.

She smiled that familiar smile that Ed had come to miss and said, "Well then, I'll go get the wet washcloth, you're drenched in sweat!" Then the young woman rushed off to do just that.

When she came back she placed a bowl on a table by the bed and wet the washcloth. As she placed it on Ed's forehead, a cooling sensation surged through his body. A sigh escaped his lips and he smiled at the comforting cold cloth. The young woman chuckled at his reaction and wiped the rest of his face with the cool clothe.

After she finished she put down the washcloth and turned to Alphonse.

Ed watched as she checked Al's head wound which looked really nasty, thankfully she looked like she knew what she was doing so Ed didn't worry too much. She then checked Al's arms and ribs which were scratched, bruised, and maybe broken. Poor Alphonse was cut and bruised all over his body. Ed tried to sit up to see more of Al's wounds but he grunted when a sharp pain coursed through his body.

The young woman whipped around at the sound. "Oh! No! Please stay down!" She pleaded as she gently pushed Ed back down onto the bed, "Your ribs are badly bruised, you are shot in multiple places, and you have scratches with bruises all over your body," The young woman said and tucked Ed in for the second time that day, "But other than that you're fine." She finished with a cute smile that made Ed want to laugh.

"Heh he-ohhgg," Ed groaned and grabbed his stomach.

A shocked expression crossed the young woman face as she leaned over to help Ed. She chuckled, "Ohh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Ed held up his hand saying, "No, it's not your fault."

The young woman nodded and turned to go back to Alphonse but Ed interrupted her saying, "And thank you for helping my brother and me, but…" Ed paused not wanting to continue but the young woman just looked over at him with a confused face.

"But what?" She gently urged.

Ed hesitated, but when he looked into Lamia's eyes he broke, "But, why? Why are you helping us? Won't you get in trouble for helping two Amestrians? You could get killed!"

Smiling sadly she responded, "But aren't you two humans who are in need of help?"

This made Ed stop so she persisted, "Who cares if I get hurt or not, as long as I help people while I can, I can die happy."

Ed just kept staring at the young woman as she continued, "And please. No thanks are necessary. As I said, I could not just leave you there. I had to help, so no thanks are necessary."

All Ed could do was stare at her with a blank face for that whole time. She really did act like Lamia from the other world. After a few seconds he shook his head and then asked, "By the way, what is your name?"

"Lamya. Lamya Vetz. And you?" She answered.

"My name is Edward Elric and that is my little brother Alphonse." Ed said as pointed at himself then Al.

Lamya nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

'Déjà vu anyone?' Ed thought as he looked at Lamya, 'Yep this is definitely our world Lamia. I guess Alphonse was right about the parallel universe thing working on her. It's nice to be proven wrong once in a while.'

The sound of Lamya's voice brought him out of reverie. "Well, now that we are acquainted you can go back to sleep and rest those wounds," she said as she walked over and carefully touched one of Ed's bandages.

Ed was about to argue but he suddenly felt a wave drowsiness and immediately fell asleep.

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"Ugh." Ed muttered as he awoke up from a restful sleep. 'Why the hell did I fall asleep so fast, immediately after Lamya touched my bandages? Something must be wrong with the rapping's because I have never fallen asleep so fast. I haven't slept that peacefully in a long time either. What the hell did she do?' Ed thought as he tried to sit up. But his ribs got angry at the sudden movement and they sent a stinging feeling throughout his body.

"Ooh!"

"Please don't try to sit up so quickly Mr. Elric. Your ribs are still trying to heal," Lamya said from her stool which was right next to Edward's bed. She was knitting something at that moment but since Ed woke up she put down her things and leaned over to touch his forehead. Her hands were a pleasant temperature which almost made Ed sigh. Almost.

"It feels like your fever is down. Excellent. Now, I can feed you something while you are up. What would you like?" Lamya asked as she stood.

A couple of food choices flew through Ed's mind but he stopped on a particular recipe and pondered on it. 'Should I try it? Should I test her to see if she really is our world Lamia?' Ed contemplated for a while but Lamya patiently waited for his response.

"Do you know how to make stew?" Ed asked after thinking it over. Now was the test. Would she pass?

Lamya gently clapped her hands together in response and said, "Of course! It is one of my favorite recipes! But it will take a while so how about I cut up an apple or something else for you to chew on as I prepare the stew?"

"An apple would be nice. Thank you." Ed smiled at the little victory. It was relaxing to see Lamya again but Edward had to be careful. Lamya was her own person and NOT Lamia. From what he had seen and experienced so far Lamya had the same personality and talents as Lamia. But Lamya seemed a little more happy and confident then Lamia. It might have been the upbringing but Ed didn't know anything about Lamya yet so he would have to reserve his judgment; something he had learned after eighty years of living. Ed rubbed his head at how confusing all of this was.

Lamya walked out of his sight again but Ed could hear her in what he presumed was the kitchen and judging by the sound, the kitchen was not that far away. He heard her walk up a flight of steps and then after a couple of minutes she came back down again.

"I only have this small apple left. I hope that you don't mind, it's all I have," Lamya said while walking over to Ed to show him said apple.

It was quite pitiful. The apple was the smallest apple that Ed had ever seen but he wouldn't complain. His stomach growled so Ed quickly nodded.

Quickly, Lamya peeled the apple and then cut it into wedges. She placed them on a plate and handed it to Ed.

"Mwankfs," Ed mumbled as he devoured the apple slices. But Lamya was already in the kitchen and didn't hear him.

After a half an hour the aroma of stew flowed through the house. Drool began to drip from Ed's chin as he laid there and enjoyed the pleasant smell of food. Finally Lamya came into view with a bowl of the beautiful steaming liquid. She placed down on the table beside his bed. Then Lamya helped Ed get into a sitting position and put a bed tray over his legs. Taking the bowl of hot stew, Lamya placed it carefully on the bed tray. Ed said his thanks and dug in. Lamya laughed at how quickly he ate but she left him to it and went to check on Alphonse.

Noticing the lack of presence by his bed side Ed looked up to see Lamya attending to Alphonse again. Ed stopped shoveling the stew into his mouth for a moment. He was worried because Al had not woken up yet, at least not to his knowledge. So he asked, "Is Al going to be all right? I didn't hurt him when we fell did I?"

Lamya turned around to see Ed looking at her with sad puppy eyes. A gentle smile graced her lips as she answered, "Young Mr. Elric will be fine. He has a mild concussion and multiple bruises and scratches but he will survive. I am sure that you didn't hurt him, in fact I believe that you shielded him from getting a severe concussion."

Ed lowered his head at the last sentence. It was obvious that he had done some damage but he trusted Lamya too much to think that she would lie just to make him feel better. She always believed that honesty, no matter how cruel, was the best policy. He had always respected her for that trait. So Ed just sighed and nodded. There was no response from Lamya until Ed felt her warm finger tips wrap around his chin and lift his head up.

Looking into her eyes Ed could see all of the love and warmth that Lamya had for these two complete strangers. Her capacity to love had forever blown Ed away but never more so than at this moment.

She smiled softly at him and whispered, "Your dedication to your brother is admiral but there are times when you should think of yourself also. Sometimes it helps others if you help yourself once in a while. I am sure that your brother would agree with me. And if it wasn't for you then both of you would be prisoners now," she chuckled, "when you feel better you should give yourself a pat on the back."

For a long time Ed just soaked in the words, by then Lamya went back to Alphonse but Ed was sure that she still had her eyes on him just to make sure that he was all right. After a while Ed inquired, "So when do you think Al will wake up?"

Lamya stood up and turned to Ed saying, "Not until tomorrow morning." She looked back down at Al. "Maybe at nine o'clock. It really depends when I can get breakfast ready. I haven't cooked for so many people before. It will be a challenge….So, what would you like for breakfast tomorrow?" Lamya said as she picked up her medical supplies.

"How about meat and eggs? Or… Potato pancakes! Do you have any potatoes or onions?" Ed said excitedly. He had loved potato pancakes when he was back in America. His Irish cook (no surprise) had always cooked it with onions and it had tasted DIVINE.

"Sure! I can do that. Let me go see if I have enough for all of us," Lamya said as she walked up a flight of stairs.

Ed waited impatiently. He REALLY wanted potato pancakes with a hint of onion. And sure enough Lamya came down the stairs confirming that she could cook it tomorrow. So she turned off the lights and said good night after she had gotten all of the ingredients together.

Lamya walked up to Ed and touched his bandages and bade him a final goodnight. Immediately he fell into a blissful sleep filled with potato pancakes, Al, and his newly found friend, Lamya Vetz.

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DuhDuhduh………the plot thickens. Hehe. Next chapter: Al wakes up to see Lamya smiling down on him. What will he think? How will he react? Tune in next time to "DESPERATION"!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I just had to do that. So how was it? I hoped that you liked it!! See ya later!!

Thank you MangoSorbet for beta reading and letting me live. Thanks to Dantecell for also beta reading and not caring if I had finished or not. ;P

EXTRA!!

_The brothers looked at each other. How the hell should they know? Maybe it was because they saw the transmutation circle. Or maybe it was because they heard this little voice telling them to use alchemy. _

"_A little voice hmmm? A little voice told you to use alchemy? That's odd. I didn't send anyone to help you. Who could hav- Oh……._him_." The Gate seemed to pause to think for a bit. After a few seconds The Gate spoke as it opened up. "Well, it looks like you get to go through but your toll will be collected later. Meanwhile get rid of _him_ for me will you? Enjoy your freedom and see you soon, very soon."_

_The brothers were grabbed by the millions of little hands and pulled into The Gate._

"_WAIT! WHO IS _HIM_???"Ed yelled before he went back into darkness, "WHO IS _HIMMMMMMMM_?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"_

"ME!!!!" :Random man in a speedo jumps out of nowhere and lands in front of the Elric brothers:

"I am him who you have been looking for!!! Give me a hug!!" :Lunges for the brothers but Lamya comes out of nowhere and stands in front of them:

"No!! Be gone evil man in speedo!" :Lamya uses some magic stuff to zap him away:

"Yeah!! Lamya saved us!!"

"Thank you so much Lamya!" (Al)

"Please, no thanks are-"

"Oh just shut up and kiss me."

:Al pulls Lamya into an embrace and starts to kiss her passionately. At first she is surprised but then she begins to kiss back and it turns into a make out session:

"Ahh…me no have anyone." :Ed pouts until Winry poofs in front of him and then pounces on him. Riza and Roy pop out of nowhere and start to make out too because Roy refuses to be outdone by Ed. After that the couples snog until they can't breathe anymore:

The End!!

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I like that ending. I think I shall keep it. All right no more story! Tis done! ;P

See ya later!!


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone.

And how are we today?

So here is another chapter, exciting isn't it? Well, it took some time to find out how Alphonse would react to Lamya and now that I figured it out I can't wait to write it so….see ya!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was sneaking around Lab 5, looking for the rights of FMA. Suddenly the building fell and she died before she could even figure out what happened.

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Last night's sleep was extremely restful for Ed but when he woke up he immediately began to panic. 'How would Al react to Lamya? I mean, he had loved Lamia deeply and now her double shows up? Damn, this is going to be so messy. Maybe I can wake him up and warn him!'

Ed clapped his hands and made his automail into a long metal pole. But before he could poke Alphonse a slender hand firmly grabbed the offensive poking instrument. Although Ed was afraid to look up, curiosity got the better of him. What he saw was Lamya looking down on him with one of her eye brows arched.

"And what do you think you are doing Mr. Elric?" Lamya asked as she steered the poker back to its owner.

"Uh….I miss my brother and I want him to wake up so we can play?" Ed tried with a big smile but this just resulted in another skeptical look from his caretaker.

"Your brother will wake up in due time Mr. Elric, now transmute the pole back into your arm and try to think of other things while I get breakfast ready." And with that, Lamya turned around to go to the kitchen.

What really bothered Ed was that he couldn't just go back to what he was doing. Ed had to follow Lamya's directions because if he didn't then he would feel damned. Not only that but when he looked at Al's peaceful face, Ed felt guilty in trying to wake him up.

"Lamya?" Ed asked as he looked up at her from his bed.

She stopped and turned around to face Ed. "Yes?"

Before he responded, Ed attempted to sit up. Surprisingly, he was able to move with only a little discomfort. It was as if he healed over night, Ed noted this but decided to continue. "You don't have to be so formal with us. So please call us by our first names. Being called Mr. Elric reminds me of being old."

A puzzled look crossed Lamya's face at the last statement but she just nodded. "All right, and please don't worry about Youn-, I mean Alphonse," Lamya blushed at the name which made Ed smirk.

'Hmmm….So she's developed a crush already huh? This will be interesting.' Ed thought as he continued to smirk at the red Ishbalan.

"Alphonse," another blush from Lamya, "should wake up shortly so you'll have a playmate soon enough, Edward."

Ed glared at the comment but it had the opposite effect. Lamya laughed as she walked back to the kitchen.

Ed transmuted the pole back into his arm and waited. 'Should I warn Lamya? Would she even understand?'

But poor Ed never had a chance to warn Lamya because Al began to stir.

This movement caught Lamya's attention. "Oh! Good, your brother is waking up. See? You went to all that trouble for nothing. And he woke up just in time, breakfast is ready." Lamya picked up the tray of plates and potato pancakes and proceeded to walk towards the table next to Ed's bed. When she got to her destination she placed the tray on the table and served Ed his breakfast.

But Ed forgot to thank her as he stared at his waking brother. 'Uh oh, this is not good.'

As Lamya turned to Alphonse, Ed positioned himself so he would be able to see his little brother's face. Lamya stood by Al's side, smiling, waiting for him to wake up.

Slowly but surely Alphonse opened his eyes.

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White. Wide expanses of white. The mind is a funny thing. At one minute one is in youthful bliss and the next total depression. And it doesn't take much to do this, to make this sudden leap of emotion. Such small things can trigger it, like a certain smell or someone's facial expression or just some time alone, to think. Thinking is such a strange and dangerous thing. It can make one happy but it can also get one mad or sad.

'I guess that is what I am doing now.' Alphonse looked around the white space and sighed.

'So this is my mind, either that or a dream. But I don't want to dream. Dreams hurt too much. Dreams consist of her, I can't do this I can't bear not to be with her. Stop! Please! Please, someone turn this off! Anyone??'

But no matter how much Alphonse wanted to scream or yell or even talk he just couldn't. It was as if his mind refused to let his body work until he faced all of the emotions that he had bottle up inside of himself ever since….

'Lamia. Sweet, sweet Lamia,' Alphonse sat down and put his head in his hands, 'I-I miss you. When I first saw you I loved you but I knew, I knew there was something wrong.'

'You knew you had the right to freedom. You knew it. Why didn't you see that? Why didn't you see that I cared for you? Didn't you notice how free I felt around you?'

'It was mainly because of your eyes. Your beautiful hazel eyes. When I looked in them I could see the tilled earth, the waving grass, and the baby blue skies. It didn't matter what you wore or what colors were around you, you were beautiful. And your eyes, they always sparkled when you smiled.'

'That is why I wanted to go to the Bermuda Triangle. I wanted to see you. Lamia? Lamia can you forgive me? When you died all I wanted to do was bring you back. I am selfish I know, after what my brother and I went through with trying to bring back our mother. But I wanted you so badly that even if you were just a homunculus it would make me happy. I didn't even think of anyone else's happiness but my own….'

'Lamia. I was thinking about Lamia. Sometimes, in my dreams, she would be right in front of me. Smiling her beautiful smile. I would laugh and take her in my arms. I would tell her how much I loved her and that I would never let her go. And if that ever happened in real life I would do the same thing. I would never let you go again Lamia, never.' Al thought as he crawled into a fetal position. There was one memory that he will never forget. The memory that brings him both happiness and grief.

"_I'm going to do it brother."_

"_What? You're going to propose?"_

"_Yes, Lamia and I have been courting for a while now. I think it's time."_

"_Hmm…Do you have a ring?"_

"_Yep, I got it this morning. When do you think I should ask her?"_

"_Well, I'll be going out tonight so whenever you want. I wish I could be here, I would love to see her face."_

"_Don't worry I'll tell you all of the details brother. …Do you think she'll say yes?"_

"_Of course! You two were made for each other. I can see her face now. Al, after all of the pain we've been through you deserve this break. I'm happy for you pal, I really am."_

"_Thanks Ed. I appreciate it, I really do."_

"_How about I stay a little longer at Miss Meitner's today? Then you could propose before dinner's ready. That way I can eat Lamia's cooking and we can all discuss whatever plans she'll want to make."_

"_All right! After Miss Meitner's then!"_

'_I can't wait till this evening. I just hope that she'll say yes.'_

"_Edward and Alphonse you need to leave, the Nazis have put out the order Anschluss. It means, the Nazi party has more control over the area. And if you two and Lamia want to survive then you need to evacuate immediately."_

"_What? But that's impossible!"_

"_Brother! Don't argue let's go! We have to warn Lamia!"_

'Your smile. I missed your smile. Why didn't you smile more often? Was it because I couldn't make you happy?'

"_La-lamia q-quickly. We need t-to leave."_

'Why didn't I tell you? Why did I let it slip away?'

"_HEY! Get your hands off her you creep! Let us go! LET US GO!"_

'Maybe it's my fault.' Al sat up at the thought, 'It usually is. I mean, it was my fault that my brother lost his limbs and me my body. If I had spoken up then we wouldn't have been in this mess. Heh, I don't learn do I? Why don't I ever speak up?'

Suddenly he was back to the little shack in Germany. Everyone was outside. Al could see Lamia in front of her burning house and he began to run but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't move. All he could do was watch, just like before.

"_Hush my little ones. Know that I love you and always will. Live your life and remember to be happy. And please, please never forget me." _

'I won't, I promise!…' Al screamed to Lamia but she couldn't hear him.

"_Aim!"_

Alphonse held his arm out as if to stop the soldiers from firing. 'Wait! Lamia I never asked you! WAIT I HAVE IT HERE! I HAVE THE RING IN MY POCKET!!' Al screamed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold engagement ring. 'YOU CAN'T DIE! WE HAVE TO GET MARRIED FIRST! DON'T DIE!!!'

"_PLEASE! STOP! PLEASE DON'T DO IT!!! STOP!!!! NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

'I SAID STOP! LAMIA!! NO!!!!!!!! MARRY ME! MARRY MEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' Al roared to deaf ears.

"_FIRE!"_

'MARRY ME! PLEASE! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LAMIA!! LAMIA!! PLEASE! LISTEN TO ME!! LISTEN TO MEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' But no one did and Lamia died….

Again.

"_NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LAMIAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

Suddenly Al was able to move and he ran as fast as he could. He reached Lamia just before she fell to the ground. 'NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooo……please…Oh God why? It wasn't supposed to end this way. It wasn't! Why did I wait? Why? WHY??'

'I could have at least screamed that I loved you! Lamia! Lamia, please…. Please know how much I love you. Please…. I beg of you. Please….' Al broke down and wept. Tears streamed down his face as he gently stroked Lamia's cold dead cheeks. Her voice rang through the air.

"_Ahaha! Alphonse!"_

'Lamia…' Al sobbed.

"_Good morning Alphonse!"_

'Oh, Lamia. Please….' Al's grip tightened as he began to choke on his own tears.

"_Be safe!"_

Lamia's body began to fade away in Al's arms. He became startled and started to desperately hug the empty space before him.

'No, Lamia please. Please come back… COME BACK! LAMIA!!!'

"_I love you both."_

Lamia's body was gone before Al could do anything. Al's fingers started to bleed as he clawed the ground trying to get her back.

'LAMIA! Stop it! STOP LEAVING ME! PLEASE! THE ONLY REASON I CAME TO THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE WAS TO SEE YOU AGAIN! PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE ME!! LAMIA!!!!!!!'

He fell into darkness.

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When Al's eyes came into focus they locked onto Lamya. She just smiled a little bit more and softly said, "Good morning Alphonse. How are you feeling today?"

Al's eyes grew to the size of the platter that the potato pancakes were on. Different emotions could be seen flying across his eyes. Ed began to panic as Al's breathing became staggered. Then Al's body began to shake uncontrollably as he kept muttering, "Lamia, Lamia."

Lamya was alarmed at his reaction and leaned over Al. She stroked Al's face in order to calm him down but that didn't last for long. Immediately when she touched Al he grasped Lamya. A gasp escaped from her lips as Al grabbed her and held on tight.

Ed didn't know what to do. Poor Lamya was trapped in Al's shaking arms. But Ed shouldn't have worried for Lamya knew exactly what to do.

"Shhhhshshshhh, its okay, its okay. There, there." Lamya maneuvered herself so she was sitting next to Al.

Shivers ran up and down Al's body as he broke down. Al didn't know what to think. He woke up to find the woman that he loved, who died so many years ago, standing by his bedside. If this is what The Gate gave him then he was eternally grateful. When he saw her, Al couldn't believe it and yet he knew it was Lamia. Of course she looked totally different and yet she still looked the same. As Lamya moved to get more comfortable, Al's grip tightened.

"N-No!!! No please! Please don't leave again! Stay! Stay with me please, please stay. I can't- I can't-," Al choked as he sobbed in Lamya's arms.

Lamya returned Al's grip and held him tighter, "Shhhhshshshhh, of course I won't leave, of course I won't. I'll stay right here. Shhhhshshshhh. Everything will be all right."

Seeing Al breaking down in Lamya's arms broke Ed's heart. 'Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he tell me that he was so depressed? Why? I didn't know that he missed her that much! Scoff. Like all those years of silence wasn't a clue. I'm such an idiot. Please forgive me Al, please. Why didn't I take care of you better?'

"Al…," Ed whispered.

Lamya lifted her head to see the other brother looking down at his sheets, almost on the brink of tears.

'Please,' Ed begged "Please heal us Lamya. Please. Help. Please help us. Please.' Ed covered his face with his hands and began to shake.

Now was the time to panic. Lamya looked from Edward to Alphonse and then back to Edward. 'What I am going to do? Why did Alphonse react like this? Did I do something wrong? And why is Edward shaking. Oh Ishbala, please help me help them.'

Lamya looked back down on Alphonse. Her heart went out to him. She leaned her forehead against his and cooed, "Hush Alphonse, why are you crying? You are safe and that is all that matters. Don't ruin your handsome face with such homely tears. Hush. Go to sleep dear one. I'll be here when you wake."

This calmed Alphonse down considerably. A relaxing sigh escaped his lips, along with a few choking sobs. And then he fainted.

"Poor thing, you tuckered yourself out. Sweet dreams," Lamya said as she carefully laid Alphonse down onto the bed. Then for some unknown reason Lamya leaned in and kissed Alphonse on the forehead. As Lamya backed away a blush formed on her face when she saw a little smile on Alphonse's lips.

'One brother down, another to go,' Lamya thought as she tucked in Alphonse.

"Thanks," a little voice croaked from behind Lamya.

She turned around to see a red eyed Edward looking at his hands.

A small smile graced Lamya's face as she sat down next to Ed. He turned his head away in shame but the touch of warm gentle fingers on his chin brought his face back to Lamya. She smiled and said, "Don't worry. Now is the time for eating your breakfast, not telling stories. So eat."

For the first time Ed really smiled. Not a 'please-don't-beat-me-because-I-lied-to-you' smile but a 'You-have-no-idea-how-much-I-appreciate-you-right-now' smile.

"Okay, I'll do that," Ed choked as he picked up his fork and began to eat.

Lamya patted Ed's left leg and got up.

Rain was pouring down outside and it seemed to interest Lamya. She looked from Al to the rain then back to Al, which continued for a good five minutes.

This caught Ed's attention. So he watched until Lamya noticed his gaze.

She smiled at Ed and asked while looking at Al, "Do you think you could man the station for a bit? I need to go out and get supplies."

"In the pouring rain? Why don't you just jump in the tub and get it over with? No, you're not going out in the rain and that's final. You'll catch a cold and die. No way in hell am I letting that happen," Ed said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Lamya laughed, "Well, I guess that answers my question," she walked over to a coat hanger and grabbed her cloak, "Thank you for worrying about me but I'll be fine. And for you I'll be extra careful and extra quick." She winked and walked to the back of the house. "I'll see you by lunch time. And let your brother sleep! He's had a trying morning."

Ed sat up straight, "Hey! Hey, I was talking to you! Listen to me dang it! If you die from a cold we won't forgive you! Hey!" After Ed realized that he had lost he sat back down into his bed. "Humph. Fine. Be that way," a couple of seconds past until Ed's scowl turned into a smile, "Well one thing's for sure, this Lamya is more strong willed then Lamia."

He looked over at Al and sighed, "Good luck Al. You're going to need it."

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The storm raged on outside. It was getting worse by the minute and that made Ed worry to no end.

"Where the hell is that crazy woman?"

"Brother?" A little voice croaked from across the room.

Ed immediately turned around to see Al staring at him. Al looked around and sat up in a rush. But the sudden movement made him woozy so he fell back down onto the bed.

"Brother where are we? And where is Lamia?"

"Umm… Al? I have something to tell you."

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Mwahahahaha!!!!!!!!!! That's right. I'm leaving the chapter at that!

Thank you MangoSorbet and dantecell for being my beta readers!!

Please enjoy my story!!

BONUS!!

Ed clapped his hands and made his automail into a long metal pole. But before he could poke Alphonse a slender hand firmly grabbed the offensive poking instrument. Although Ed was afraid to look up curiosity got the better of him. What he saw was Lamya looking down on him with one of her eye brows arched.

"And what do you think you are doing Mr. Elric?" Lamya asked as she steered the poker back to its owner.

"Uh….I wanted to play poker?" Ed tried with a big smile but this just resulted in another skeptical look from his caretaker.

"Uh….I wanted to see if I could pick his nose from here?" Ed tried with a big smile but this just resulted in another skeptical look from his caretaker.

"Uh….I wanted to wake him up so we could dance with the chickens?" Ed tried with a big smile but this just resulted in another skeptical look from his caretaker.

"Uh….Hey look! Where did this random pole from?" Ed tried with a big smile but this just resulted in another skeptical look from his caretaker.

"Uh….I want my money!! Heh-heh?" Ed tried with a big smile but this just resulted in another skeptical look from his caretaker.

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See ya later!!


	10. Chapter 10

Hello again.

So some time has past between the last chapter. Just so you know.

I'm sorry if this took so long to update but I had a REALLY busy week. So, lo seinto.

Alright! Time to start this wild party!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was sitting in this expense restaurant. The waiter asked her if she would like to choose her fish. So she got up and saw the FMA fish. She pointed at it but the waiter said no, those rights will never belong to you.

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"Do you need any help Lamya?"

"Sure! Thank you Alphonse!"

Ed watched as Al slightly limped over to the kitchen counter. Lamya was preparing stew, again at Ed's request. It was a week into the healing process for Ed and Al, and Al was in total bliss. After Ed explained the situation Alphonse had become depressed but after a little confession of how Lamia was too scarred to truly love him, he began to lighten up after a few days. He had decided that he would make it with Lamya. And it really wasn't that hard for him to fall in love again. This Lamya was more cheerful and more confident then Lamia. She smiled all of the time just like their mother. Plus, she was way more receptive to Al's flirtations.

"Shall I chop up the carrots?" Al asked as he stood next to Lamya.

She looked up and smiled, "Yes, please!"

Alphonse was almost head and shoulders above Lamya but that made it even better when it came to helping in the kitchen. Observe.

Lamya turned from the counter and stepped towards the cupboards on the wall. Standing on her tippy toes Lamya attempted to reach the big serving pot.

"Um.. Al?" Ed pointed to the stretching Lamya behind him.

Al twisted his head to see the funny predicament. Chuckling, Al leaned over Lamya and grabbed the serving pot. Of course this created an odd position for the couple but only for a few seconds.

A deep crimson blush formed on Lamya's face as she mumbled a thank you.

Being clueless, Al didn't notice the tension and responded with a cheery welcome.

And so it was like that for the whole evening. Ed would sit on his bed reading a book that he had chosen off of Lamya's shelf while Al and Lamya enjoyed some time in the kitchen.

As Ed watched the happy couple he kept thinking about how they were so much in tune with each other. Alphonse would reach for something at the exact same moment that Lamya would turn to stir something else. When one watched them in the kitchen it looked like they were dancing. They would flow with each other and never get in each other's way. Without speaking, Al would know what ingredient Lamya wanted and at what time. The same rule applied to Lamya when Al needed a certain knife to cut the celery or one of the other vegetables.

Lamya looked up at Ed and asked, "Edward, would you like to set the table?"

"Not really but I will," Ed responded with a smirk. Lamya just smiled and went back to dancing with Al in the kitchen.

Slowly but surely Ed got up. When he got to the kitchen, Lamya had already placed all of the plates and utensils on the counter. He picked them up and proceeded to set the table.

"It looks like we have some leftovers. I'll just go put these in the compost pile, I'll be back." Lamya said as she picked up the scraps.

Al turned, "You have a compost pile?"

Lamya smiled as she walked towards the stairs. "Yep, up in my little sanctuary. If you want I can show it to you after dinner. But only if you keep it a secret." She winked at Alphonse and began to climb the stairs.

Ed lifted his head in time to see Al blush and then go back to work.

"Aww….does my wittle bwoder have a wittle cwush?" Ed mocked as he set the final plate down on the table. Before he could say anymore Ed found a carrot flying towards his face.

When it hit its target Al chuckled, "Shut up and set the table Ed."

Ed growled, "Don't tell me what to do! I don't have to set the table if I don't want to!"

"Oh, well that's all right I'll finish it," A small voice said. The source of the voice was standing by the stairs.

Slowly Ed turned around to face a sadly cute Lamya. Guilt rose up into his chest. "N-no! I'll do it! I was just angry at Al that's all…… I'll go set the table." Ed bowed his head in shame and walked over to finish setting the table.

Lamya smiled, "Do you need any help?" She walked over to the table and looked down at the plates.

"Nope, I got it," Ed said as he set down a fork, "Say Lamya?"

"Yes?" Lamya responded while she went behind Alphonse. She pointed something out and he immediately began to stir the stew.

Instead of asking his question Ed just watched Al and Lamya.

Al took a spoon from the utensil drawer and scooped some stew from the pot. He motioned for Lamya to try the hot liquid. Smiling, Lamya leaned in and took a taste. She closed her eyes and nodded at the taste. Al took the rest of the sample and tasted it. As the hot stew rolled down his throat Al sighed. The young lovers then gazed at each other and smiled.

As Al looked down upon Lamya he noticed that she still had a little bit of stew on the left side of her mouth. 'Should I?' Al thought. His face became strained as he contemplated the consequences and benefits of his action.

A worried look crossed Lamya's face as she saw Al furrow his brow.

Noticing this Al just smiled. He leaned in and kissed the left side of Lamya's mouth, licking the stew off in the process.

Needless to say Ed was stunned, as was Lamya because she just stood there frozen on the spot with a blush quickly forming on her cheeks. Al just turned back to the stew but only Ed could see the devious little smile that graced Al's lips.

'Dirty old man,' Ed thought to himself with a smile. He went back to setting the table, completely forgetting that he had to ask Lamya a question.

"D-dinner's ready," Lamya stuttered. She then quickly picked up some platters full of bread and scurried to the table.

Al picked up the pot and set it in the middle of the table. Then he took everyone's bowls and filled each of them.

"Thank you," Lamya chimed as she took her bowl. The brothers paused as they waited for Lamya to say her prayers and then they dug in.

After Ed's third helping, he remembered that he had wanted to ask Lamya a question so he swallowed his stew and asked, "Lamya?"

"Hmm?" She said looking at Ed.

"Where are we?" Ed inquired

Al stopped eating to look at Lamya. By the looks of it Lamya was just as surprised by the question as Al.

"I never told you? Hmm….Well, anyways, we are on the outskirts of Central. If you would like you could go to Central, it only takes a couple of minutes if you walk fast," Lamya said as she leaned her elbows on the table.

This took Ed back a bit. "We're that close to Central?"

Lamya nodded, "Yep."

Sitting back in his chair Ed sighed. Lamya looked to Al for guidance but he just stared down at his plate.

"Do you want some desert?" Lamya questioned while getting up from the table. But Al just touched her arm to tell her to sit down and that he would get the desert.

Whilst Al was up Ed looked outside to see rain pouring down. Lamya followed his gaze to the window.

"You're not going to go out again are you? I don't like it when you go out there in the rain," stated Ed, who was staring intently at Lamya.

Lamya just shook her head and smiled. "Nope, not tonight. I got all of my supplies the last time that it rained."

"Why do you go out in the rain anyways? Isn't it harder to get supplies in the rain then in the day time?" Al asked as he placed the cookie dish on the table.

A sad smile fell on Lamya's lips as she sighed. "You would think so but no, it is much easier and safer to go out in the pouring rain. Funny, huh?" Lamya looked down in her lap and rang her hands.

The two brothers glanced at each other. Al sat down next to Lamya, and as if on cue, both Ed and Al leaned in.

"Why?" They both chimed.

Shocked at the sudden question Lamya fumbled a bit and rang her hands together even more. "Umm…well…you see the people around here don't exactly..like…me…so it's safer if I go out at night because then they can't see me as easily…"

This was something new. 'Lamya acts just like Lamia so why would people hate her? Is it because of us?' the brothers thought.

While they were processing this new piece of information, Lamya took a cookie off the dish. She chewed on it in silence but she couldn't keep quiet for long since the brothers stared intently at her, waiting for more answers.

"I suppose you want to know why the people dislike me around here?" Lamya asked in a weary tone.

The brothers nodded. Al extended his arm and gently squeezed Lamya's hand. "You don't have to if you don't want to. We'll understand," Al said.

Lamya smiled, "No it's okay. It's quite simple actually." She stopped and took another bite out of her cookie. "You see, my father was an Ishbalan priest who fell in love with a state alchemist."

"Oh." Ed said as he looked down on his plate.

"Yeah, my parents were supposed to be complete enemies but they fell in love, got married, and had me. Now everyone around here treats me like a traitor. They've attempted to kill me numerous times but it seems that luck is on my side. That's why I go out in the rain to get supplies. My neighbors don't go out in this weather so I'm safe."

"Wait," Ed leaned in and put his elbows on the table, "They've tried to kill you?"

Lamya looked shocked, "Yes, why?"

Ed banged his fists against the table making Lamya jump.

"Did you report this?" Al asked kindly while keeping an eye on his older brother. Now that Ed had his young body, he was slowly becoming a little more rash. It was as if his new body gave him a new sense of pride and nerve.

"Well, no-"

"THOSE BASTARDS! What the hell is wrong with people?? WHY IS DEATH ALWAYS THE ANSWER??" shouted Ed as he got up and walked towards the door.

Al quickly got up and grabbed his brother's arm. "Ed! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to kick their asses! What the hell did you think I'm going to do?" Ed shoved Al away and grabbed the door knob.

"No!" Suddenly Lamya slid herself in front of the door, blocking Ed's escape. Lamya grasped Ed's hand and pleaded, "No, please. They have no idea what they are doing. It's not their fault that they were raised that way! Please Edward. You still haven't healed yet. Please…" Ed watched as Lamya's head and shoulders fell in defeat, "Please…don't get hurt needlessly."

With a heavy heart Ed turned away from the door and back to the table where he picked up a cookie before sitting down. Lamya looked up to see Ed glaring at the opposing wall with such vigor that it could have melted. A sad smile graced her lips. Slowly Lamya walked over to Ed. She stood next to him but he refused to acknowledge her so she bent down and lightly kissed the side of his forehead.

Ed looked up at the touch with a face of confusion.

Lamya smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Hmph, whatever. I was just doing what my little sister wanted. No big deal," Ed huffed and chomped his cookie.

The words 'little sister' rang through Lamya's mind. 'Little sister? I-I have a family?' Lamya just let it soak in and a warm sensation coursed through her body. 'Family. Yes. Family.'

"Right!" Lamya cheered.

All three smiled at each other from Lamya's reaction. Then Lamya remembered something.

"Oh! Alphonse!" Lamya turned to said Alphonse, "Do you want to see the compost pile?"

Al's eyes lit up, "Sure! It's upstairs right?"

"Yep! Come on I'll show you!" Lamya bounced towards the stairs while Al eagerly followed.

After the two were gone Ed just shook his head. "He better watch it. No one hits on my little sister and gets away with it," Ed said with a grin. But that grin faded and a sigh escaped as Ed looked out the window to see the rain dying down. "Winry, you're so close. But are you still waiting for me? Or do you have someone new? …..Heh, women are so complicated." Ed leaned on his elbow and rested his head on his hand with a sigh.

---------------------------------------------

Al followed Lamya to the back of the house. The stairs creaked as the two bodies crept on them. When they finally got to the top Lamya stopped and turned to point left. Al's eyes followed her finger and saw a beautiful garden with a compost pile next to it. All of the plants were blue from the incoming moon light, which came from the massive hole in the roof. There were rows and rows of vegetables that stretched from the farthest wall to about ten feet away from the stairs.

Lamya took Al's hand and guided him along the rows of vegetation. She pointed out the different types of vegetables and every now and then she would crouch down and show Al the various characteristics of the plants. Alphonse saw the sparkle in her eyes as she explained everything to him. It looked like Lamya really adored her garden especially from the way she delicately touched each plant.

When she was finished with the tour the two just sat by the edge of the stairs, looking up at the stars. Alphonse sighed. He turned to look at Lamya to see her smiling brightly at the now clear night sky. This made him smile and turn back to the heavens.

"If you were wondering, that hole," Lamya pointed up at the non-existent roof, "it was made when my neighbors tried to burn my house down. When I was fixing everything up I decided to keep it, that way Mother Nature could take care of my garden as well. Besides I like looking up at the sky, it makes me feel free."

There was a long pause until Al finally spoke. "Why do you stay here if you're trapped?" he asked but kept his gaze towards the sky.

"Because I was waiting," whispered Lamya.

Now Al turned to look at Lamya, she turned as well and smiled sadly. "I was waiting for the day when I could go outside onto my lawn and finally feel the warm sun on my skin and the cool grass underneath my feet. That's my dream. To enjoy being outside in the daytime and not be afraid for my life." Lamya curled up into a sitting fetal position and muffled something into her legs.

"What? I didn't catch that," Al questioned.

Lamya lifted up her head and rested it on her legs while looking at Alphonse. "What's your dream Alphonse?"

"My dream?"

"Mhmm."

"Hmmm… To finally sleep peacefully and to experience all things, whether good or bad. I want to use this body that my brother gave me-" Al stopped and looked wide eyed at Lamya.

But his slip up didn't seem to faze her. She just looked at Alphonse with one of her eyes brows raised and smiled.

"It's okay Alphonse. You don't have to explain," Lamya turned back to the night sky but Alphonse kept staring at her.

He made a decision but first he had to ask Ed. Besides, Ed could probably explain the whole parallel universe thing better than himself. So Al stood up and offered Lamya his hand, she looked up at Alphonse in confusion but took his hand and followed him down the stairs. Still holding onto Lamya's hand Al walked up to a surprised Ed.

"Brother we need to tell her," Al stated in a stern voice.

Ed was taken aback by the sudden change in mood but after a few seconds Ed's face became somber and he nodded. Lamya just watched the silent conversation that the brothers had between themselves.

"Sit down Lamya it's high time that we tell you our story," Ed said while pulling out a chair.

Lamya did as she was told and sat down. Unbeknownst to her this would be one of the most powerful conversations that she would ever have with the brothers.

---------------------------------------------

After a couple of hours or so of explaining their life the brothers had to wait another hour for Lamya to stop crying. Ed was sitting facing Lamya while Alphonse was sitting next to her, holding her close while she cried. Lamya had understood about their life but the part of Lamia was hard to take. The brothers reassured her that they liked her not because of her similarity to Lamia but how she acted as a human being. They claimed that she and Lamia were two completely different people and that the brothers would treat her as such.

A couple of sniffles later Lamya looked at Ed and lunged. Ed just sat there shocked with Lamya crying and hugging him.

"You two are so wrong," Lamya cried.

Ed looked at Al and then back at Lamya who stopped hugging him and collapsed in her chair. She wiped her eyes and sighed. "You thought that you didn't have family when your mother died but you did. And when you entered the military you thought you only had each other but you were wrong again. That man that you called a bastard may have been idiotic at times but by the way you describe him it seems that he took you in under his wing. Kind of like a second dad." Lamya stopped and blew her nose.

The brothers thought of what she said. They hated to admit but she was right. They had the Rockbells and everyone in Dublith when their mother died and when Ed joined the military the brothers looked at Roy and Hughes as paternal figures while Riza acted like a second mom.

"The family that you were searching for was right there all that time and still is. All you have to do is open your eyes," Lamya said with such a soft voice that all Ed could do was hide his face behind his bangs. Al nodded and smiled a little bit.

A few minutes of silence and contemplation followed.

"Maybe we should have told you before, I kind of feel free now that you know everything," Al chuckled.

Lamya smiled. "Maybe you should have but that was up to you. Now, Edward," Ed lifted his head to look at Lamya, "What are we going to do about your Miss Rockbell?"

A blush crept up Ed's face and he began to stammer. "I-I-I w-w-weell, a-a w-what?"

Alphonse burst into laughter and Lamya joined in. It took a minute for Ed to realize what happened and then he too began to laugh.

Yeah, family was there the whole time.

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Hmm… yes…yeah, I was way too lazy to write out their whole history okay?

You all know it anyways so why bother? ;P

Well, I hope you like it and thank you MangoSorbet and dantecell for beta reading!!

BONUS

Lamya lifted up her head and rested it on her legs while looking at Alphonse. "What's your dream Alphonse?"

"My dream?"

"Mhmm."

"Hmmm…. To dance with chickens or platypuses. I want all of the experiences in life. Maybe I should buy a hippo..yeah…I'll go do that…." Al promptly stood up and left.

Time

Ed wakes to a breeze. Gradually he opens his eyes until he sees where that breeze is coming from.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Oh, brother! You met Herbert the hippo! What do you think? Brother? Ed?"

"I think he died from a heart attack."

"Dang…"

….

"I call his jacket!!"

"Not fair! You're his brother so you get everything anyways!"

"Mlah!!! I called it first! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!"

---------------------------------------------

Ugh. I need sleep.

See ya later!

Please enjoy!!


	11. Chapter 11

Hello.

I am extremely sorry. Many of you have requested that I update sooner and I have not. I'm sorry. The problem is that I have not been feeling very well lately. Sigh…..

Well, on with the story!

**Oh! And Lamya speaks Ishbalan (which is the language that Ishbalan's speak…… I don't know if it is real but in my story it is!) and so when she speaks in Ishbalan it shall be in **_**italics**_ Ok? Ok!

Disclaimer (I'm letting MangoSorbet do this one because she requested it. So if it sucks don't blame me. I love you MangoSorbet! ;P ): While on an African safari, Atemus'Lotus spots the rare and beautiful butterfly named FMA Rights. Using her oh-so-powerful butterfly catcher, she takes a swing at it, but misses. Her jeep crashes into a tree and with a headache, she realizes the FMA Rights butterfly will never be hers. (Awesome job! But I don't enjoy that headache part. Ouch!)

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One month. One month since Lamya had found the rogue brothers. One month since the brothers were transported back to their old home. One month.

One month of total bliss.

There was no reason to frown in the Vetz household.

Al was smiling from ear to ear every single minute of every single day. It looked like The Gate finally gave him a break and let him have a second chance at love. Ever since Lamya showed him the secret garden Alphonse was up there all the time. He would do humdrum things to improve the garden, such as weed and water; the real brain behind the whole garden was naturally Lamya, its owner.

Lamya went out less and less often since she wished to stay and keep the brothers' company. Besides, the food from the garden was enough to feed the three for a fortnight. It felt good to be around family again. Ever since Lamya's parents died she had been lonely and depressed, but then the Elric brothers showed up. The Elric brothers brought new hope to Lamya and she was so thankful. Every day it seemed that Lamya's dream was closer than the day before.

Yes, family was nice indeed. Of course she immediately viewed Edward as her surrogate older brother, but when it came to Alphonse her feelings were mixed. At first she thought that she would see him as a close friend or another brother but then he opened his eyes.

Alphonse's eyes could be described as a mixture of caramel and butterscotch swirling together into one. They were magnificent and tasty. And Lamya couldn't help but fall in love with the person who owned them.

When he was finally rested enough to talk to her and interact with her, Lamya found him absolutely charming. A little bold at times but still a gentleman. Lamya felt loved and cherished whenever Alphonse would look at her. A warm feeling would course through her entire body whenever they touched. Needless to say Lamya was bursting with glee and love for that whole month.

Ed was ecstatic from the multiple volumes of research done on medical alchemy. Lamya's mom had been a state alchemist and her specialty was medical alchemy. Ergo Lamya had a collection of her mother's notes and references. Over the month Ed learned so much about medical alchemy that he was dying to try it. And he knew exactly who to ask.

"Lamya?" Ed inquired one day.

The three people occupying the Vetz home were currently settled in the kitchen/dining room/living room. All three were sitting at the table; Lamya was constructing a better box to hold the compost in, Alphonse was writing down complicated equations and formulas that no one could decipher, and Ed was reading more books about medical or healing alchemy.

Lamya looked up and smiled, "Yes?"

Shifting some papers out of his way Ed picked up a note and passed it to Lamya. She took the paper and began to analyze it.

"Could I try that?" inquired Ed.

Lamya smiled and handed the paper back to him. "Sure, but you've all ready seen this done," She commented.

Al stopped what he was writing and looked up to see Ed's puzzled face.

"What? When, where? I don't remember that." Ed looked at Al for any indication that he was wrong in his surprise. Nothing came to mind so Al shrugged his shoulders.

The Elric brothers turned to Lamya who chuckled. Slowly she got up from the table and walked across the room to her dresser. Lamya opened it and brought back a roll of bandages which she placed on the table. The brothers leaned in to take a closer look at the bandages.

If one squinted then one could see faint blue markings all over the bandages.

"These," Lamya said while pointing at the ruins that decorated the bandages, "are the symbols that you see here," She then pointed at her mother's notes. "I write these symbols all over the bandages so when someone is hurt all I have to do is wrap them up and activate the transmutation circle. The symbols are arranged so that when activated they help the body heal faster. They don't do the healing, the body does. That is the basic concept behind the symbols."

Ed nodded. "I see," he picked up the roll of bandages and examined it.

"So this is what you used on us?" Al asked as he looked on with his brother.

"Mhmm. That and the bandages that when touched make the wearer fall asleep," Lamya said with a grin.

"I knew it!" Ed shot up and pointed at Lamya, "I knew it was you! Whenever I fell asleep at a weird time, it was you wasn't it?"

Lamya blushed. "Well….sometimes you wouldn't fall asleep so I had to… But you felt better afterward right?" She looked Ed in the eyes and gave him a shy smile.

Ed just crossed his arms over his chest and flopped down in his seat. After a while if one strained their ears they could hear Ed mumbled, "Yeah…I suppose…"

Then something hit Al. "Lamya? Why do you have all of these bandages lying around?"

"Oh, well there are some neighborhood kids who come to see me if they get hurt. But that's only because they want to disobey their parents," Lamya chuckled.

Al scratched his chin and laughed, "I guess that's good. But I think that's the only time I approve of disobedience."

They all began to laugh and talk about how they all used to disobey their parents. But for some reason Ed had more stories than anyone else…. When their conversation finally died down, Ed asked if he could examine the bandages and they all went back into a comfortable silence.

It was a half an hour later when things began to pick up.

Every day at six o'clock Lamya would turn on her radio and dance to her favorite program. While she danced she would prepare dinner and tend to her garden. The brothers always hoped for a salsa type of song since that meant they would get a spicy dish for dinner. Different types of songs would produce different inspirations for Lamya while she made the food.

The brothers waited in anticipation as Lamya put down her project and began to put it away. After she was finished cleaning up she waltzed over to her radio and flipped the fateful switch.

……

……

"Huh. The radio's broken. Well darn it," Lamya sighed as she kept repeatedly flipping the switch.

'How anti-climactic,' Ed thought as he came over to the radio to inspect it.

The wire was ok but it seemed like the insides were rattled. Ed blushed when he realized that that might have happened when he knocked it over by accident yesterday. Dang, now he won't get an exciting dinner. Stupid cheap ass radio.

"Here let me look at it," Al offered as he picked up the radio to inspect it. "Hmmm….. It looks like someone kicked it… But I can fix it." He then clapped his hands and placed it on the radio. Suddenly blue sparks of electricity flew through the air.

The light that radiated from the reaction made Lamya's face glow as she watched in awe. After two seconds the radio was as good as new.

Lamya squealed and clapped her hands. Then she turned to Alphonse and said, "Wait here." Lamya ran up the backstairs, leaving a very puzzled pair of brothers. One minute barely passed as Lamya ran down the stairs with two sick plants in her hands.

"Can you get half of the iron out this plant and transfer it to this one?" Lamya asked as she pointed to the pitiful foliage.

Alphonse just smiled. He nodded as he clapped his hands and placed them on the plants. The familiar sight of flashing blue spread across their faces again and when it was done all that there was left was two beautiful flowers of lilacs and roses.

The lively flowers made Lamya so happy that she hugged Al and kissed him on the cheek. Of course she still had the flowers in her hands so it wasn't a perfect hug but Alphonse really didn't pay attention to that part. No, the part he paid attention to was when she kissed him. This in turn gave him a deep blush that Lamya took no notice of, she was too occupied in admiring her plants.

"Oh, thank you Alphonse! Thank you!" gushed Lamya as she placed the flowers on the table. "There, now don't they look wonderful?" Lamya asked as she turned to Alphonse.

Too bad he was still in La-La land so Ed answered instead. "They certainly are, they certainly are," Ed said while smirking at his dazed little brother.

"Well, now that the radio is fixed, how about some music?" Lamya walked back to the radio and flipped the switch.

…..

A song started to play on the radio. It sounded like an old folk song, a song that one could really dance to. Happy at the choice of music Lamya began to sway and hum. The swaying of Lamya's hips caught Al's attention and he smiled. In one fell swoop he took her hands and commenced to dance.

The sudden appearance of a dance partner shocked Lamya but after a while she realized that Alphonse wasn't half bad and so she loosened up. Lamya placed her right hand in his left and her left on his right shoulder. Alphonse's right hand supported her back as he began twirl across the floor.

Laughter rang through the air as the young couple swept across the room while Ed clapped the beat. The song went on for four minutes until….

"Miss Vetz?"

Everything stopped.

There in the door way stood a little Ishbalan girl with a bloody knee. She looked to be five years old and clung onto a teddy bear as if her life depended on it.

The Elric brothers had seen her before but Lamya would usually warn them to go hide before the little girl would be allowed in the house. But now…. Their cover was blown. What would the Ishbalans do now?

Al stopped moving and Lamya crashed into his chest. She stared at the young girl and nobody said anything for a good five minutes.

"Miss Vetz? Who are these people?" The little girl asked again.

Lamya quickly untangled herself from Al's embrace and smiled. "These are my friends who are visiting me today. And… Sephia! Whatever happened to your leg?" gasped Lamya as she rushed over to the bleeding child.

Sephia sniffled and hugged her teddy bear harder. "Marcus pushed me and I fell down into the ditch, now my knee hurts," Sephia whimpered.

"Aww…. Come here honey. Let me take a look at it," Lamya cooed as she shut the door and led the girl to one of the chairs in the kitchen. "Alphonse could you please get me a warm wet washcloth with a little bit of soap on it?" inquired Lamya. She knelt in front of Sephia and began to inspect the wound.

Al nodded and walked into the kitchen, meanwhile Ed stood behind Lamya and looked down on the child. He sighed and shook his head. This gained Sephia's attention and she wearily looked up at Ed.

"W-what's w-wrong?" She stuttered as she tried to read Ed's expression of disappointment.

Ed just shook his head again and sighed, "Well, it looks like we might have to amputate."

At the word amputate Sephia's eyes grew to the size of watermelons. "A-amputate? W-what does amputate mean?"

"It means we'll have to cut off your whole leg…and maybe a little bit of your stomach too," Ed said in a grave yet jovial voice.

Sephia freaked out. "M-miss Vetz? I-is that t-true?"

Lamya sighed and shook her head. "No honey, Mr. Elric is just teasing you. You can keep your leg today."

At that Ed burst out laughing and ruffled Sephia's hair, "I was just kidding kid. No need to be scared, Lamya's the best doctor around."

All Sephia could do was sniffle but after looking at Ed's goofy smile she began to giggle.

Alphonse handed the needed supplies to Lamya and she proceeded to clean Sephia's cut. It took around ten minutes for Lamya to clean the girl up and apply the special bandages. After which Sephia giggled and began to swing her leg back and forth. Lamya smiled at her handy work and helped the little girl off of the big chair. Sephia immediately hugged Lamya and looked up from between the folds of clothing and said, "Thank you Miss Vetz!"

"You're welcome sweet heart but I think that it is time you go home before your parents wonder where you are," Lamya chuckled as she hugged Sephia back.

"Ok!" she cheered but before she left she hugged Al and Ed. "Thank you funny men! Bye!" Sephia waved as she ran out of the house.

Then Lamya remembered something. Quickly she opened the door and called back for Sephia. She obeyed and walked back onto the porch.

"Sephia? How about we keep the funny men our secret?" Lamya said while looking into the little girl's eyes.

"You mean I can't tell Maté or Paté?"

"Yes. No telling Maté or Paté. _Can you do this for me? It would make me really happy if we could keep this secret to ourselves._" Lamya pleaded to the five year old.

Sephia smiled. "_Our own little secret Miss Vetz? Just between you and me?"_

Lamya nodded and smiled, "_Yep. Do you think that you could do that?_"

"_Yes! Anything for you Miss Vetz!!_ Dera! Dera!" Sephia yelled as she ran off with a huge grin on her face.

"Dera Sephia!! _And remember to keep our secret!!_" yelled Lamya. She waved at the little girl until she could no longer see her. Lamya then turned around and walked back into the house, closing the door behind her.

Ed took a step forward and asked, "What does Dera, Maté, and Paté mean? And what language were you two speaking?"

Lamya started to clean up and answered, "We were speaking Ishbalan. Dera means goodbye while Maté and Paté mean Mama and Papa. Would you like to learn?"

"Sure!" The brothers cheered.

"All righty then. We'll begin after supper. I'm thinking pot roast with potatoes and corn. How about you?" Lamya asked while she brought out some pots and turned on the stove.

Al walked towards the cooler and took out the meat. Ed was about to set the table when he stopped and looked at Lamya. "Lamya? Do you think that we can trust Sephia not to tell on us?"

"Of course, but not for long. Next week I smuggle you two out and then from the creek you can make your way to Central," Lamya said while filling a pot with water.

The brothers stopped.

"What? You're not coming with us?" asked Al.

---------------------------------------------

Sephia skipped into her home. "_Hello Mama! I'm home!!_"

A woman of twenty-nine years looked out of the kitchen and smiled when she saw Sephia. "_Sephia! Where have you been?_"

When Sephia was about to reply a little voice rang through her head, '_Go on. Tell them everything. It would make Miss Vetz happy. Besides those men are only going to hurt her in the end._'

"Ummm…. I scarped my knee and then…"

---------------------------------------------

Somewhere in the dark depths of Central a man sat on a throne. He laughed deeply as he saw his plan fall back into play.

"You can't run for long. No one gets in the way of my plans. Soon we'll be back to normal and then we can finally fulfill our dream. Our victory is so near I can feel the blood pooling in my mouth! Watch out Central! Soon the Elric brothers will be mine and then the universe!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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Who the heck was that? And what is with the blood thingy? Well you'll find out in a couple of chapters. Actually let me see…. You'll get to know him in… Chapter twenty four! What chapter is this again? Eleven? O.O Oh……well you'll see little snit bits of him throughout the story but Chapter twenty four is his chapter so…..

See ya later!

Thank you MangoSorbet and dantecell. Except MangoSorbet threatened me so I don't want to thank her as much as dantecell. Although he did nothing to save me so I would like to thank my mom in who I confided in and she said that she would whoop anyone who would harm me. So there! (Yeah, I run to my mommy. Got a problem with that? ;p )

BONUS

All of the characters are sitting around a table sipping coffee and tea.

Man shrouded in darkness talks. "So I won't be showing up until Chapter Twenty Four? Then why am I in the story so early?"

Authoress: "Well, it is called foreshadowing. Besides this wasn't your first appearance."

Lamya: "As long as everything comes out all right in the end then everything should be fine. Right?"

Authoress: …….

Ed: "Everything does come out all right, right?"

Al: "No one dies do they?"

All of the characters wait with abated breath as the authoress sinks into her seat.

Authoress: "Well….. No comment."

All: "SOMEONE DIES???? AGAIN!!!!!! WHO???"

Authoress: "Well…. If MangoSorbet keeps threatening me…. I wouldn't start any new projects if I were you Lamya. That goes for Ed and Al too. Heheh."

All: O.O

Authoress: "SO WATCH IT MANGOSORBET!!! It hurts when you threaten me…. Sniff, sniff. All I want is a hug….."

Ed: "You are pathetic."

Authoress: "Watch it Shorty, so far your life is in the balance."

Ed: "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALL-"

Authoress: "Does anyone have any candy?"

Ed: "HEY! YOU JUST CAN'T-"

Authoress: "Anyone? Oh, well. I guess that's the end of the BONUS. See ya later!!"

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I love MangoSorbet!!! She is such a good friend!! Thanks for keeping me on track for writing!

See ya later!

And please enjoy!!!


	12. Chapter 12

Hi!!

Since I didn't update fast enough last time I have decided to post this chapter sooner.

Oh! And now I am hooked on Bleach. Has anyone here read that? Oh my gosh is it good. Plus I all ready have my favorite couple!! Can you guess? I'll give you a clue: Ichigo x ? YEAH!!!!

Okay on with the show!

Disclaimer: Shhh!!! Atemu'sLotus needs to concentrate. The rights to FMA are under one of these coconut shells. All she has to do is concentrate and ……AGH!!!! STUPID COCONUT!!!!!!

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"_What? You're not coming with us?" asked Al._

_Lamya slowly turned around to face the Elric brothers. "I wasn't planning on it…" she whispered as she filled the pot with water._

_Ed turned off the sink before Lamya could finish and forced her to look him in the eyes. "Why? What is left in this hell hole? What could possibly make you want to stay?"_

"_I-I….." Tears welled up in Lamya's eyes and she placed the pot down in the sink, "E-excuse me. I have to- I'm sorry." At that Lamya ran up the back stairs and didn't come down until Alphonse asked her to come to dinner._

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The past week was extremely awkward and silent in the Vetz household. It was decided that on Friday Lamya would help the Elric brothers escape while she stayed behind. They didn't know why she wanted to stay, but then again the Elric brothers decided not to pry. Amazing no?

No. The Elric brothers had a different plan. Somehow they were going to take one of the wrappings that put people to sleep and wrap Lamya up. Then when it was it time to part they would activate the wrapping and take her with them….. Odd but they thought that that would work. They called it "saving" her but in technical terms they were kidnapping Lamya. But anything for their little sister (according to Ed, Al had a different take on that).

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For most of the week Lamya was upstairs attending to her garden. She found peace in gardening and so far her life had been anything but. After her little confrontation with the Elric brothers Lamya had been in total distress.

The fact was that she wanted to go with them. Against all hopes she wanted to leave her--as Edward so kindly put it-- "hell hole", and live a new life with the new family that she had found. But life didn't always pay attention to one's feelings or desires.

If Lamya left with the Elric brothers then her neighbors would get suspicious. That would lead to attacks that Edward and Alphonse were not up for and Lamya refused to put them in danger. It sucked majorly on Lamya's part but she had decided that when she first had met the Elric brothers that she would do anything within her power to protect them.

Most people would shrug off that little threat but what those people didn't know was that Lamya was a force to be reckoned with. She had studied her mother's notes and her father's Ishbalan priest techniques. Lamya knew all of the pressure points on a human and how each affected a person's mind and body. She knew her way around in a fight, her force wasn't much but she moved so fast that it didn't matter. Her opponents would usually faint from exhaustion before they could even touch her.

That is how she has survived in her "hell hole".

Of course the Elric brothers had no clue of this and she meant to keep it that way. Lamya hated showing off even to her new family. And so it was decided that her new family would be leaving without her…..

She would be losing an older brother, Edward. And Alphonse. What was Alphonse to her?

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Alphonse often thought about Lamya. There would be times in the day where he would look at the flowers on the table and a blush would grace his cheeks. That was the first time that he was kissed by Lamya. Well… it was on his cheek but at least that was a start.

When he had danced with her that fateful evening his heart all most burst from happiness.

Thankfully he had learned how to dance in Germany. He and Ed had taken lessons so that when they moved to the United States they wouldn't be put to shame if they were invited to dance by a high ranking female. Poor Alphonse was always asked to dance and he obliged for a little while but when he got older and became more and more separated from the world, he stopped dancing.

It made him depressed that he could dance with all of these women and yet he was not able to dance with his one and only Lamia. That seemed wrong to him so he stopped….until Lamya.

He had no idea what possessed him to dance that night. Maybe it was the folk song that sounded familiar. Maybe it was the jovial atmosphere. Maybe it was because he had just gotten a kiss from Lamya. Or maybe it was because he knew that Ed was the one that had broken the radio. He had no idea but it felt good to dance again.

At first Lamya did not open up to him but as the song went on he became less and less rusty and she became more relaxed. They just glided across the floor as one entity. Lamya's body would gently graze Al's in such an innocent way that chills went up and down his spine. Apparently Lamya didn't notice this intimacy but Alphonse did and it made him blush every time that he thought about it.

And when Sephia had interrupted them, Lamya crashed into Alphonse. It took all of his strength not to pull her in and kiss her right then and there.

But now…

It was a rare sight indeed to see Lamya downstairs anymore. She would of course still prepare the meals but she wouldn't talk to anyone. She would just go about her business and then hide back up stairs again.

Whenever he saw her his heart would break. It was like he was watching himself all of those years ago when he retreated from the world. He watched as she silently made their food. Her eyes would have a glazed look over them as she did her chores, completely ignoring the Elric brothers in the process.

This would not fly. Not anymore.

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What the hell is wrong with the world?

That is the question that repeatedly popped up in Ed's mind for the past week. It bugged the hell out of him that Lamya would rather stay in this hell hole than go with the brothers to Central. What was up with that? Didn't she enjoy their company?

Ed had already adopted her as a baby sister so she should be set. He knew that Al thought of Lamya as a… well as a potential lover but, Ed was fine with that since he knew that Al would treat her with the upmost respect.

Why didn't she want to go? Was it because of the Ishbalans? Did they somehow brainwash her into staying? Maybe she didn't want to leave because she wanted to stay and keep treating the little kiddies. Was that it? No, it couldn't be.

Lamya thinks on the same level as Lamia. So what would she be thinking at this point in time? …..Safety! She would be thinking about everyone else's safety! So she doesn't want to go with them because she wants to protect the brothers. But what does she want to protect the brothers from?

What could possibly be more dangerous or important than Lamya's happiness and safety?

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Rain. That's what stood out the most that night. It was finally Friday night and it just had to rain, of course this did not bother Lamya but then again she was used to it. Sadly, the rain postponed their escape so they had to leave in the early morning on Saturday. It was six o'clock in the morning and still raining. Lamya didn't see the problem with it but the brothers on the other hand were quite peeved.

"What the hell is wrong with the world?" Ed groaned as he rubbed his automail ports. He was sitting by the window and was currently glaring at the rain almost daring it to keep pouring.

Alphonse was by the beds checking to make sure that they had everything before they left for Central. Lamya had provided the suitcase, yes suitcase. The brothers naturally didn't have that much to carry since they had only been there for barely a month and a half. In fact they only carried two outfits, handkerchiefs, socks, and some living essentials like tooth brushes and what not.

Lamya had come down from her sanctuary that day and spent most of her time in the kitchen attempting to prepare the brothers one last warm meal before they left. But every time she would try to get a pan from underneath the counter she would end up collapsing on the floor in tears. She hoped that the brothers didn't notice her sudden outbursts but she had no such luck.

Whenever she fell to the ground the brothers would stop breathing and moving just to listen to her silent weeping. They wanted to make sure that she wasn't hurt but they were too afraid to go over there. And so the endless circle of 'lack-of-communication' continued.

The meal was finally finished and guess what was for breakfast? Yep. Stew. One would think that by now Ed would be sick of the stuff but that was just the opposite. Crazy man.

"S-stew's r-ready," Lamya croaked as she placed everything on the table.

The brothers slowly looked at the table and go up. They ate their meal in total silence except for the end.

"You're lucky. It's a good day to go out, the rain will cover you nicely," Lamya commented as she finished her stew.

Ed just huffed and shoved more food into his mouth.

"Yes, it will," Al agreed, "But will there be a boat waiting for us by the river?"

"Oh. Well, no, but there are plenty of trees so you could make a boat," said Lamya while she collected the bowls and utensils.

Ed stood up and walked towards the door and put on his coat. "It's time."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy as everyone realized what Ed meant. Lamya nodded slowly and gathered her things. Alphonse went to get the suitcase but something caught his eye when he glanced out of the window.

"What's that?" Al asked as he headed for the window.

Outside could be seen a dark mass approaching the house, but if one looked more closely one could make out different sized people. Lamya gasped and grabbed the brothers.

"Quickly! Go out the back door!" She yelled as she dragged the brothers to the back of the house.

Gunfire could be heard outside of the house and everyone's hearts jumped for a second.

When silence reined Lamya sighed a breath of relief but kept pushing the brothers. "Hurry up! If they catch you then they'll kill you!" pleaded Lamya as she tried to hold the two men back.

But the brothers would have none of this, they wrestled out of Lamya's grip and charged at the door.

It was at that moment that someone shot down the door and five Ishbalan men stomped in. The elder of the five took the leader's position and placed his rifle by his side.

"Well, well. Now what do we have here?" The old man clucked. He looked over Ed and Al with a scowl and then spoke to his companions without turning around. "It looks like Sephia was right. There are two Amestrians living here. I think that Ishbala is finally smiling down on us boys." His pupils became dilated as he hissed his last command, "Kill them."

"NO!" Lamya flew in front of the brothers and spread out her arms in order to protect them from the bullets.

Four shots were heard as Ed and Al screamed for Lamya. It was Germany all over again. There was nothing that they could do, all they could do was stand there and watch Lamya die before them. The four bullets hit their target and Lamya's limp body fell to the floor.

The old man ordered a cease fire and looked down on Lamya. "Foolish girl…. One done two to go, keep firing until they are all-" But the old man didn't get to finish his statement for a fist punched his jaw shut. He fell on the floor with his tongue bleeding.

"Don't you dare speak of Lamya like that," Ed seethed as he loomed over the leader of the gang.

The five Ishbalans were in shock that the Amestrian took offense to such a little thing but they didn't have enough time to process any more since four fists shot up from the ground and knocked them out. Ed whisked around to see an enraged Alphonse with his hands still on the floor.

"They pissed me off," Alphonse growled as he glared at Ed.

This sudden change in mood made Ed take a few steps back but then he realized that Lamya was still bleeding on the floor. Both men dived for the girl. Alphonse gently lifted her into his arms. They saw her sweaty face covered with some blood but she was still breathing, well more like panting but at least she was alive. Half of her body was still facing the floor so Alphonse lifted her into a more comfortable position onto his lap.

Noticing the sudden movement Lamya opened her eyes slightly and saw the brothers looking down on her. "Run, there'll be more in a few minutes," she croaked as she choked up some blood.

Her frail body tremble in Alphonse's strong arms, more blood seeped from her mouth as she tried to cover up her coughing fit.

Alphonse lifted Lamya up bridal style and turned for the back of the house. "Then we better get moving. Ed?" directed Alphonse as he went to the coat rack and wrapped Lamya tightly in her coat. Ed rushed towards the bed and grabbed the suitcase. Lamya clung to Alphonse's shirt and coughed up some more blood as the trio rushed out of the back door and into the rain.

Mother Nature did not hold back for the three runaways as the rain belted their backs. It was hard for Alphonse to run with Lamya wrapped up in his arms and the sudden pools of water didn't help. He almost tripped once or twice but Ed would support his elbow and then they would continue running.

"W-where a-are w-ehhk g-gekk-oing?" Lamya coughed into Alphonse's chest.

Tightening his grip on her Al whispered into her ear, "Shhhhshshshhh, you shouldn't speak it'll agitate your wounds. And we're leaving for Central, now shhh! We'll take care of everything."

When they got to the overflowing river Ed quickly clapped his hands and transmuted a rough motor boat. Al pondered how his brother could make a motor boat for two seconds and then gunshots were heard. The sound started to get closer and closer and panic rose in the brothers.

"Are you sure it'll work? What did you use for engine fluid?" Al questioned as he piled into the boat with Lamya in his arms.

Ed jumped into the boat and turned the engine on. It puttered for a moment and then seven Ishbalans came over the hill with massive guns.

"There! Get them!"

"Holy shit! Pump you stupid gas!! PUMP!!!" Ed yelled as he kicked the engine. The occupants of the boat flew back as the engine started suddenly and the boat whisked away into the distance. Al gripped the side of the boat with one hand and tried to keep Lamya inside the boat with the other.

"Brother!!! Slow it down! SLOW IT DOWN!!" Alphonse could feel Lamya slipping from his grip.

The boat began to slowly lose speed and settled down to a putter. Now was the time to inspect Lamya's wounds but the brothers were hesitant since it was still raining. The wound could get infected so they decided to just ask Lamya where it hurt the most.

Alphonse leaned into Lamya and asked, "Lamya I know that it is hard but can you please tell us where it hurts the most? Where did the bullets hit?"

A groan came out of the bundle, "M-my s-stomach…d-did you get hurt? I-is everyo- ehkkeh!" Coughing ensued and she was unable to speak.

Alphonse hugged Lamya and whispered gently in her ear, "Shhhhshshshhh, thank you. We'll be in Central in no time. You'll be alright, I'll make sure of that." Surprisingly no blush came to Alphonse's face when he whispered the last statement in Lamya's ears. Now more than ever Alphonse felt protective of Lamya and for obvious reasons. A gut wound was nasty and fatal if not treated immediately. Panic ensued.

"Ed what will we do when we get to Central? Where will we go?" Al asked as he coddled Lamya in his arms, she began to tremble again.

The rain began to lighten up as they moved forward and Ed paused before he answered his younger brother. Ed sighed and looked at the pitiful picture of Lamya bleeding to death in Alphonse's arms. His heart began to tighten and he redirected his gaze towards the horizon.

"Let's just hope that that bastard is still there."

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Hmm…. I wonder what bastard he is talking about. Could it be… FWAH! Find out next chapter!

Poor Lamya is bleeding to death… Dang…. Oh well, just rub some dirt on it and it will be fine.

Thank you MangoSorbet and dantecell for betareading!!! And no Lamya is not a daywalker nor will she ever be, coughdantecellcough!

BONUS

Whenever he saw her his heart would break. It was like he was watching himself all of those years ago when he retreated from the world. He watched as she silently made their food. Her eyes would have a glazed look over them as she did her chores, completely ignoring the Elric brothers in the process.

This would not fly. Not anymore.

As Lamya came down the stairs Al grabbed her wrists and pulled her into his chest.

"This just isn't going to fly anymore," Al growled as he took her in for a passionate kiss.

All of Lamya's senses stopped as she melted into Alphonse's arms. When they finally broke the kiss Lamya was left breathless.

"Well?" Al asked expectantly.

"I think my garden needs a little weeding done. Will you help me?" Lamya said in a sultry voice while her fingers climbed seductively up Alphonse's chest.

At that Al lifted Lamya up and stomped upstairs.

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Ed tossed and turned in his bed as Lamya watched from the kitchen.

Alphonse looked up from his book and gave his brother an odd look.

"He's dreaming those strange dreams again," Lamya said with a worried tone.

"Yeah… I wonder what he is dreaming about." Alphonse commented absentmindedly as he took a sip from his mug and continued reading.

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Wouldn't they like to know. ;P

See ya next time!

Please enjoy!!


	13. Chapter 13

Why, hello.

And how are we this fine day?

I want to thank all of you for the nice reviews!! They make me smile all the time.

So, most of you were concerned over Lamya. Sigh… Although her life is in the balance she shall-

On with the show!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus has decided to make Lamya a daywalker. But then! Oh no!! All of the characters start to come out of her laptop and begin to eat Atemu'sLotus!! What? What are they chanting? "YOU DO NOT OWN FMA!!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO INTERFERE WITH THIS STORY!!!!" GASP! NOOOOO!!!!!!!

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HAPPY AMESTRIAN DAY!!

That phrase and others like it were posted all over the city of Central. The reasons should be obvious, today was Amestrian Day. A holiday that was added after General Roy Mustang became President of Amestris.

President Mustang had realized that there were no holidays during the reign of the homunculi(which would probably explain all of the depressed people but that's another story). And so he decided to begin small with the holidays. The people were weary of the government and were having their doubts about their country so he created a patriotic holiday first, in order to bring up everyone's spirits and pride.

The people really got into this holiday when it was created. There were bake sales, parties, fairs, and fireworks in commemoration for their beautiful country. Some people would go as far as dying their hair green and gold, the colors of Amestris. People would scramble to grocery stores to stock up on supplies because the next day all businesses would be closed.

Shops were filled with the countries colors and flags hung from every building. Happiness and joy spread like a plague throughout the city and seeped into the surrounding countryside. Everyone was happy, except for one group of soldiers and their leader.

What President Mustang also did on this day was remember all of those people who had died for their country over the years. This was the only reason that he and his staff had not joined the celebration that day.

Currently President Mustang and his staff were in his office remembering all of their fallen comrades. Everyone was sitting in the chairs that made a half circle about eight feet away from President Mustang's desk. That's right, _everyone_. Fuery, Falman, Breda, Havoc, and Havoc's current girlfriend, Sheiska were all in the President's office while everyone else in the city congregated to the fair grounds.

President Mustang was sitting back in his leather chair with his eyes closed as his fiancée, Riza Hawkeye, stood behind him with her gaze cast down in reverence.

"We all know why we are here," President Mustang began, "Let's remember all of those who have died or have gone missing in the past years."

Silence reigned as a certain obsessive father and a pair of brothers popped up in everyone's minds.

"So let's raise our glasses and drink to their respectful if not amusing memory." President Mustang said as he took a sip of the drink that Riza had prepared for everyone. At that, everyone raised their glasses, gave a weak but sentimental "Here, Here", and inhaled their drinks.

Roy sighed and set down his glass. "Well, isn't this depressing? Kind of makes one want to go home a take a good nap."

"You still have to go to the ceremony sir," Riza said in a cold voice as she stared at the back of Roy's head.

A cold shiver ran up and down his spine as he shakily turned around to face his fiancée. "I wouldn't dream of missing such a festive occasion."

Doubt hung in the air as everyone looked at their commander and chief.

It was just last year that Roy had tried to sneak away from the festivities. The jovial people were getting on his nerves as he remembered all the people who had disappeared in his life, it angered him that no one really seemed to care. So Roy decided to leave for a nap instead of flaming someone. He almost made it too until Riza shot his fancy hat off his head. He was assigned to mounds and mounds of paperwork for a whole week after that incident. Although that punishment did not seem very fair to him since he did lose his favorite hat in the attempted escape.

"I am sure. Now le-" Riza responded before a big bang reverberated throughout the building.

Everyone froze and looked at each other. Then simultaneously they reached for their guns.

"Who the hell could that be?" Roy grumbled as he began to slip on his gloves, "Aren't they all supposed to be at the fairgrounds?"

"Obviously not," Havoc retorted as he stood in front of Sheiska as sounds from below began to grow louder and louder.

Voices echoed down the hallway and every one strained their ears to hear what was being said.

"WHERE THE HELL IS THAT FRICKIN' OFFICE??"

"Brother! Watch your mouth! Where is everyone? Why is there no one here?"

'No. It couldn't be,' Roy thought as he listened to the familiar voices in disbelief, 'It CAN'T be!'

"WHAT THE HELL?? WHY IS THIS FRICKING PLACE EMPTY??"

"I just asked that! Now stop yelling! We need a doctor and fast so jus- Hey! Where are you going?"

Everyone looked at each other wondering if they were going crazy. They had to be going crazy! The Elric brothers were on the other side of the gate! It can't be them!!! Right?

"I'M GOING WHEREVER THE HELL I FEEL LIKE! THERE HAS TO BE AT LEAST ONE DAMN PERSON IN THIS FRICKIN' PLACE!!"

"Alph- ehkkeh!"

Riza tensed. 'Who is that? I don't recognize that voice. It can't be the Elric brothers.' She looked at everyone while pointing her gun at the door. "Get ready to protect the President," she commanded and everyone nodded in disbelief at what they were hearing from the other side of the door.

"Shhhhshshshhh, save your breath Lamya we're trying to find out where the hospital is right now. Don't worry- Lamya? LAMYA?? ED!!!"

'No,' Roy shook his head.

"FOUND IT!!"

'No!' Roy lifted his fingers, ready to snap.

A familiar voice shouted before…

CLAP!

BOOM!

Everyone's arms shot up to cover their faces as debris from the exploding door came flying. When the dust finally settled they couldn't believe their eyes. There in front of them stood none other than Edward and Alphonse Elric.

'Yes,' Roy almost fainted from relief as he saw the brothers in front of him. 'They're home. They're finally home. But… Is it really them?' Looking them over Roy noticed that they weren't…clean? Is that the right word? Or let's say _fresh_.

Edward was hunched over from running and from exploding the door. Blood, sweat, and water dripped from the brothers' sagging forms as they paused to catch breath. They were covered in mud and leaves that were still wet from last night's rain. It looked as if they had crawled for miles on their knees before they decided to come into the office.

Roy crept a little closer to get a better look at the boys. He wanted to make sure that they were the real Elric brothers and not just impersonators, he wanted to believe that they were back. No, he HAD to believe that they were back. As Roy looked at them the stench of swamp and rotting fruit filled the office, the brothers' appearance explained why.

In short they looked like they needed a good shower and a nap. When no one responded to the brothers' sudden intrusion, Ed burst.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOU MOVING THE DAMN MILITARY HOSPITAL YOU BASTARD!!!!!" He shouted as he pointed accusingly at Roy.

This made Roy take a few steps back. 'How could he yell at me when he barged into MY office?? AND when he just came from a different dimension!!!'

"W-what?" Roy managed to spit out. But he was never answered because Alphonse stepped out from behind Ed with something in his arms.

"Please," Al pleaded while still trying to catch his breath, "Please help Lamya." Alphonse staggered forward, threatening to fall but he steadied himself at the last minute.

It was then that Mustang noticed that there was a half dead person in Al's arms. Roy ran out from behind his desk and to the dying form.

Everyone lowered their weapons and just stared at the brothers. Shock was the main feeling in the room as everyone saw the supposedly 'dead' Elric brothers' trying to catch their breath in front of them.

"H-how?" Sheiska whispered. That was the question that was running through everyone's minds as they watched every move that the Elric brothers made.

"Who is this Alphonse? What happened?" Roy asked as he tried to unravel the tightly wrapped coat. Lamya groaned in response and panic rattled Alphonse's brain as he tried to answer the general but he could only think of one thing at the moment.

"Please, please help her," Alphonse whimpered as he hugged Lamya closer to his chest. Roy grabbed Alphonse's shoulders to help him stand.

"Alphonse-" Roy started but was interrupted.

"Would you just shut up and take care of her!!! SHE'S DYING!!!" Ed screamed as he collapsed to the ground. But his statement had an opposite effect as everyone froze. No one dared to move, for what reason no one knows but one could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

Exhausted from all of the yelling and awkward tension, Riza picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Mr. Armstrong? We need a group of medics waiting for us at the new hospital. Right now. Thank you," Riza hung up the phone and turned to the group, "My car is outside. Let's go."

No one moved for a second and then they all sprang to life. Fuery and Breda rushed out the door while Havoc and Falman helped Ed up and led him outside, Sheiska trailed behind muttering in wonder at the brothers' sudden appearance. Roy squeezed Al's shoulders in reassurance as Riza rushed outside to start up her car.

They had to take two cars in order to get everyone to the hospital. Riza, Roy, Al, Ed, and obviously Lamya occupied the first car while everyone else borrowed a military car. Ed, Al, and Lamya sat in the backseat as Riza drove with Roy next to her. Roy's mind was bursting with questions for the brothers but right now they needed to help that girl that was coughing in the backseat.

Alphonse rocked back and forth as he tried to comfort Lamya. "Shhhhshshshhh, look! See? We're almost there. Just hold on a little longer. Everything will be ok!" reassured Alphonse.

Ed had nothing to say as he sat there looking out the window at the scenery flying past. 'It's amazing that she is still alive. Can we really save her? Is she just going to die and leave us once more? Why? Why did this happen?' Ed thought as his head rested against the window of the car.

In the front of the car Roy and Riza were having their own silent but subtle conversation.

Roy glanced a t Riza, 'How the hell did they get here? And who is that girl?'

'I don't but we need to get her to a hospital and now. She's losing a lot of blood. …. Are you okay Roy?' Riza flashed a concern look at her companion.

'Fine. But right now we should be worrying about the dying girl in the back of your car. Can't this thing go faster?' Roy sat up straight in car in annoyance, as if the action would make the car go faster.

'Not if you want us all to die.' Riza kept her eyes on the road and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

'All right, all right. Damn. Why the hell did I move that stupid hospital?' Roy furrowed his brow and looked out the window in disgust.

"We're here," Riza said as she stopped the car and got out.

In front of the hospital stood Mr. Armstrong and a team of medics who watched with curiosity as the people filed out of the car. When Alphonse stepped out with Lamya in his arms the medics gasped and rushed towards him. They immediately took over and left the group alone on the sidewalk as the medics stole Lamya into the hospital.

Al lumbered after them with Ed following via the help of Roy and Riza. Mr. Armstrong stayed silent, for once, as he watched the Elric brothers in curiosity. He had been shocked to see them get out of the car but he stayed still in order to analyze them. Was it really the Elric brothers? None the less Mr. Armstrong followed them into the hospital to see 'Alphonse' plead with the medics.

"I-is she going to be all right?" Al asked wearily as he watched the medical team cut open the jacket. Blood started to flow freely then and the medic quickly tried to stop it. Panic ensued as they tried to stop Lamya from bleeding to death. "I-is she going to be all right?" Alphonse asked again but no one heard him as they rushed Lamya to the emergency operating room.

The brothers tried to follow the doctors into the operating room but Roy and Riza stopped them.

"There is nothing that we can do now," Roy said as he directed Ed onto a nearby seat. Alphonse stayed standing and just watched the emergency operating room door. Sensing his worry Riza lightly grabbed his arm. He looked down on the woman with worried eyes.

"They didn't answer me. Why? Why didn't they answer me?" Alphonse croaked as tears began to form in his eyes.

Everyone watched as Alphonse collapsed next to his older brother and began to shake. "Why? Why?" he kept repeating.

No one knew what to do. The Elric brothers had suddenly shown up out of nowhere carrying a half dead girl who would probably die from blood loss. Of all the days to show up they had to show up on the day that no one would be around.

Riza slowly sat down next to Alphonse. She rubbed his back to try and calm him down but Al kept shaking. Roy looked at Riza and she just sighed as she saw that nothing they could do would calm the boys down. Ed sat there staring at the opposite wall while Alphonse broke down.

Roy asked Ed, "Edward I need you to tell me what happened. Okay? Edward?" He leaned forward and looked at Ed's face.

'Are they for real?' Everyone thought as they watched Ed stare blankly at the wall for a few seconds until he blinked once and then fell back into his trance.

Two minutes passed until Ed whispered, "We were just trying to go to Berlin to find some books…."

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The group was sitting there for hours on end listening to Ed and Al's story. When Ed was finished the doctors were done with surgery and were waiting to speak. Everyone was too shocked to say anything after Ed was done so the doctor stepped up.

Ed looked up at the patient and tired doctor with expecting eyes. "Well?" he croaked.

The doctor sighed and reported, "Well she lost a lot of blood so it was hard. Plus it was a gut wound so technically she should be dead by now but by some miracle she survived. You can go and see her in a couple of minutes but be careful. She's been through a lot so don't talk very loud or get too excited." He began to walk away but then he turned around. "You're really lucky you know." And with that he walked away.

Slowly but surely the Elric brothers got up and shuffled toward Lamya's room. A nurse walked out of her room and smiled at the approaching group. "Are you Alphonse and Edward?" the nurse asked.

They nodded and she smiled even more. "She's been asking about you two. You can go on inside but she is asleep so try not to wake her, she needs her rest. You two are really lucky," the nurse said as she left. When she reached everyone else she asked them to stay outside since two visitors were enough excitement for one day.

Edward and Alphonse rushed into the room to see Lamya sleeping peacefully. Her face was clean and calm looking as she was finally able to breathe without coughing. She was covered in white sheets and bandages so the brothers didn't get too close for fear of getting mud all over her. They sighed in unison when they found that she was all right. Ed pulled up two chairs and the brothers sat down to look at Lamya.

Everyone just watched the brothers and their movements from the small window in the door. They were still in shock from the Elrics' arrival so they watched the Elrics while the Elrics watched Lamya. Although they really couldn't see Lamya they were still able to make out the two brothers. This staring contest went on for hours until Lamya finally woke up.

Lamya's eyes flickered for a little bit and then they came into focus when she saw Edward and Alphonse.

"Edward, Alphonse? Are you okay?" She croaked as she turned her head to see them properly.

A small laugh escaped from Ed's lips. "Idiot. You're the one who got shot. We should be asking you that question," Ed scolded.

Al smiled and grabbed Lamya's hand. "We're fine Lamya. How are you?"

"Well," Lamya whispered, "I'm feeling fine but sleepy," her eyes widened a little bit as she took in the brothers' appearance. "You two need to take a shower."

"Thanks," Ed said dryly, "I don't know, I think the mud brings out my eyes. Don't you?" He turned around to show her his beautiful mud gown.

This made Lamya laugh which was not the best thing in the world. She began to cough up some blood and Ed freaked out. "Lamya! I'm sorry. I didn-"

"I'm fine Edward so don't worry about it, " Lamya said while trying to smile but blood seeped out and dripped down her mouth. "Oops," she said as she tried to wipe it away but she was too tired to even keep her eyes open.

Except Alphonse was faster. He took a tissue and wiped away the blood before Lamya could lift her hand. "How about this," Alphonse said as he finished wiping her mouth, "Ed and I will go clean ourselves up and you can go to sleep. When we are done we'll come back and then we can have dinner. Ok?" Alphonse looked down at Lamya with a kind smile.

A blush crept onto her face as Lamya responded, "Ok but take your time. Don't rush on my account." She closed her eyes and sighed, "Ok?"

"Nonsense," Alphonse said as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. Lamya's eyes shot open to see a smiling Alphonse, "We'll get back as soon as possible. Now in the meantime you should rest."

Ed watched as his little brother smiled down upon Lamya and then turned to walk out of the door. Poor Lamya was blushing so much that her face matched her eye color. This made Ed chuckle as he said his goodbye and followed Alphonse out the door.

But Alphonse turned around at the last second and said, "See ya later Lamya."

She broke from her trance and looked up to smile at Alphonse. "Okay, see you two later."

Alphonse smiled and almost skipped out of the room with Ed. Everyone followed the brothers down the hallway as they listened to the Elrics.

Ed just laughed and punched Al's arm. Teasing him he said, "Hey. I thought that the nurse said not to get her excited."

"Shut up Ed," Al threatened as he broke into a grin, "Besides, it was just a peck on the forehead."

"Hmmm…. Just like you did when there was stew on her cheek?" Ed asked as he began to wobble out of reach.

Alphonse tried to hit his brother but missed. "Ed! Get back here!"

"Sorry but I got to clean up before I come back!" Ed shouted as he slowly jogged down the halls of the hospital.

"Ed!" Al laughed as he began to gradually jog after his brother.

Meanwhile the adults just shook their heads.

"Yep, they're back," Roy said as he walked next to Riza who smiled up at him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hell ya! So how was it? I think that kinda sucked… but oh well.

Thank you MangoSorbet and dantecell who are my betareaders!!!

BONUS

Ed: So why is the hospital so far away?

Atemu'sLotus: Because it was in the script.

Ed: What?? That's your response??

Al: So I guess that you're not going to kill Lamya? I mean, you let her live so all of the drama is done. Right?

Atemu'sLotus: Well….

Lamya: I don't die do I?

Izumi: Why do you keep trying to kill off Lamya anyways? Is she not YOUR character to begin with?

Atemu'sLotus: I-izumi? What are you doing here?

Izumi: Well I just realized that I won't be in this fic so I might as well show up now. Besides, you didn't answer me.

Atemu'sLotus: Umm… because people would kill me if I killed one of the canon characters? I uh…… LIGHTS OUT!!

Everyone: WHAT?? BUT THIS BONUS SUCKS!!!!

Atemu'sLotus: Ouch.

---------------------------------------------

That BONUS did suck……Ew.

See ya later!

Please enjoy!!


	14. Chapter 14

İHola!

That's Spanish!

….

PFTT!! AHAHAHA!! :wipes tears from eyes: Sorry I just had to say that. Wow, I REALLY need sleep.

.

.

-.-

So who hates daylight savings time? YEAH!!

Ok… Let the chapter begin.

Disclaimer: While waiting for the FMA bus, Atemus'Lotus examined her map only to find a large stain on top of her destination point. Engrossed in removing it, she didn't notice as the FMA bus passed right by and left her.

--

"You don't have to come with us. We're older than you, you know, we can take care of ourselves," Ed briefly stated to the woman walking next to him.

Riza looked up at Ed and sighed. "And we've already been through this Edward-"

"Ed."

"Excuse me?" Riza asked as she looked at Ed in confusion but he didn't look back down at her. Ed just kept staring at the hallway ahead of him.

"Call me Ed, not Edward," He finally said after a couple of seconds. His indifferent gaze never wavered as he continued to walk down the hallways of the hospital.

"Ed," Riza began with extra emphasis on Ed's name, "we have already been through this. President Roy Mustang must go to the festival along with his Cabinet, it's his duty as the leader of this country," Ed snorted at that remark but Riza continued, "Since I am not a part of that Cabinet and since you and Alphonse are unfamiliar with the area I was elected to accompany you two wherever you decide to go. I am not babysitting you, I am accompanying you so please refrain from being rude."

At that Ed just stuck his hands in his coat pockets and kept walking, only this time with more vigor. He was wearing a white long sleeve shirt with black dress pants and a deep red suit coat jacket.

"I wonder where all of the medics are, they shouldn't have ALL left after we did. Do you see anyone Ed?" Riza asked as she looked around. But Ed just kept walking, thinking about what had passed over the past few hours.

After their brief meeting with Lamya the Elric brothers were escorted back to the President's mansion for much needed showers. But since all of their clothes were lost in the crash, (Ed crashed the boat after a heated argument with the air and water current) they had to borrow some of Roy's clothes, much to Ed's chagrin. The kicker was that they fit the brothers almost perfectly… except that the clothes were too short.

Ridicule of the cruelest kind followed.

After Riza had split the two men up she proceeded to order Roy to go to the festival grounds where all of Amestris was waiting for him. He obeyed much to his dismay until his Cabinet was forced to go with him. Then Riza drove the Elric brothers back to the hospital. Ed was currently walking with Riza back to Lamya's room but Alphonse was nowhere in sight.

Subtly looking around Riza could not find Alphonse. "Ed?" Riza asked as she looked back to the elder of the Elric brothers.

"Yes, Miss Hawkeye?" Ed questioned but he continued walking down the hallway without even noticing Riza's worried tone.

"Ed, where is Alphonse? Wasn't he just here a minute ago?" Riza asked as she quickened her pace to keep up with Ed.

Again Ed was silent for a few seconds until he answered her. "He's here so don't worry. We're almost to Lamya's room so we'll see him soon."

Riza just nodded in response and pondered on what Ed could mean. 'I thought that this girl meant the world to Alphonse and Ed. So why would Alphonse be wandering off? Unless he's…' She looked up to see Lamya's room number with the aforementioned Alphonse sitting inside all ready. Alphonse only wore a short sleeve white shirt and gray slacks with thin suspenders.

Alphonse turned at the noise and nodded to the new company. Ed silently acknowledged this greeting and sat across from Al, on the other side of Lamya's bed, Riza however didn't approve.

"Alphonse, where were you? My job is to accompany you, not to let you wander around aimlessly. Please inform me the next time you wish to disappear," Riza stated as she crossed her arms.

Noticing her stern tone Alphonse sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry Miss Hawkeye. I was looking for Lamya's favorite flowers in the gift shop but they didn't have them so I went ahead and came here. I didn't mean to trouble you, please forgive me," Alphonse said as he bowed a little in his chair.

"Apology accepted. Thank you," Riza smiled a little at the youngest Elric and went to stand behind him. "She's still asleep," whispered Riza as she gazed at Lamya's peaceful form, "She's very pretty too. What was her name again?"

"Lamya, her name is Lamya. It means 'dark one' in… Arabic I think," Al absentmindedly whispered. His gaze never wavered as he watched Lamya's steady breathing.

This left Riza in awe of the two brothers. They had been through so much hardship, seen countless people die or get maimed, and yet they still had this innocence about them. The young woman sleeping before her certainly looked innocent enough. And that is what made her such a treasure to the brothers. Lamya, this young woman, was their only link to the innocence that they had lost so many years ago.

The three of them stayed there for forty minutes, just watching Lamya when Riza suggested that they go out to eat while Lamya slept. At first the brothers were opposed to the idea but they eventually came around.

Riza had forgotten what day it was. No shops were open since it was Amestris Day so instead she took them to her apartment.

"You can sit on the couch while I check my supplies," Riza said as she let the Elric brothers into her apartment. Ed walked in first and plopped down on her red sofa while Alphonse followed Riza into the kitchen.

Meanwhile Ed sat up on the couch and looked at the newspaper that lay on the coffee table. The headlines were of different varieties, there was on Amestris Day. "And of the new president, of course, what a blowhard," Ed muttered as he opened up the paper to catch up on the local news.

A couple of minutes later a triumphant cheer resounded from the kitchen.

Alphonse popped his head into the living room and said, "Brother! We found some leftover sandwiches, come get one, it's time to eat." And with that Alphonse retreated back into the kitchen.

Sighing Ed folded the paper back up and went into the kitchen. He was reading the paper hoping to find something on how Roy Mustang, of all people, got elected to the presidential office. Unfortunately instead of having anything on the president's electoral history, it just had stories about how attractive the new president was; when Ed had read that he almost lost his appetite.

"Well at least now I can find out from Miss Hawkeye," Ed muttered as he entered the kitchen.

"Find out what Ed?"

Ed looked up to see Riza and Al staring at him from their seats, with their sandwiches in their hands. This took him back for a second before he responded. "I wanted to find out how the hell Mustang became president," Ed huffed as he sat down.

Riza sighed and began to eat her sandwich. "That story is too long and boring to be told fully," Riza commented as she took another bite of her sandwich.

"He probably did a Kennedy. Stupid frivolous women and their obsessions with handsome men in office," Ed muttered as he stuffed the petite sandwich in his mouth and grabbed another off the plate.

Al was half way through his as he sighed. "Now brother, you know very well that President Mustang must have worked very hard to get his position. The women vote had nothing to do with it," Riza's face became more stern at this comment but Al ignored it and kept talking, "We should be very happy for him. Let's just hope he doesn't end up like poor President Kennedy." Al muttered the last part but Riza still caught it.

Not like it would do her any good since it wasn't anything from her world but just the same.

After a few more sandwiches, the telephone rang. Riza got up to answer it while Ed and Al cleaned up from their quick and easy dinner.

"That was the hospital" Riza said as she came into the kitchen, "They said that Miss Vetz won't be able to see anyone tonight. So you two can either sleep in my living room or you can bother the President. Which one will it be?"

The answer should be evident.

--

"They have been contacted doctor," the nurse said as she put down the receiver, "The Elric brothers have been detained."

The tall doctor turned his head away from Lamya and to the side. "Good. Now get back over here, the procedure is almost finished. Hand me the scalpel."

"Yes doctor," the nurse answered as she went for said scalpel.

--

"Finally. Solitude," Ed sighed as he walked down the familiar hospital hallway with Al next to him.

"Now, now. It was very nice of Miss Hawkeye to let us stay at her house for the night. I just hope that Lamya is up to visitors. Did she even eat last night?" Al pondered as he kept worrying about Lamya.

"The nursing staff was here so don't worry about it. Here we are," Ed said as he stopped in front of Lamya's room, "Now stop worrying and help me get Lamya ready to meet Colonel Bastard." He grasped the door handle and walked into the room.

There one could still see Lamya sleeping peacefully …..And there in lied the problem. In a few minutes Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and the rest of the gang would be dropping by to say "hi" to this new found girl. Hence why Ed and Al got there early, in order to brace Lamya for the hurricane that was to come. Sadly she was still asleep.

"I guess that she's on her own," Ed sighed as he sat down next to her bed, "Sad. I was hoping that we could have at least said hello to her before the heard stampeded in."

Al chuckled and sat down across from Ed. "Giving up so easily? Goodness brother, where's your will power? We can still warn h-"

"Good morning Chief! How's your girlfriend?" Havoc cheered as he came charging into the room with his arm wrapped around Scheiska's shoulders. A fist met face and Havoc was down for the count.

Everyone sweat dropped as they watched Ed return to his seat with a satisfied smirk on his face. Alphonse laughed nervously and turned to their guests. "Good morning everyone. Lamya's still asleep but I'm sure we won't have to wait for long. How about you all find some seats to sit in while Ed simmers down?" Alphonse greeted with a smile.

They all nodded but after five minutes they could only fit enough seats in the room for the women. When everyone settled down the questions began.

"So you guys think of her as a sister?" Scheiska asked Alphonse since Ed was still preoccupied in glaring at Havoc.

"Well, Ed calls her his adoptive sister all the time. So I guess that's a yes," responded Alphonse with a slight chuckle.

Everyone noticed that only Ed called her that so Roy had to jump onto that opportunity.

"That's all well and good but what do YOU call her?" Roy inquired with a smirk.

A confused look spread across Al's face and he answered, "Lamya. Why?"

Cue everyone falling on the floor.

Roy was the first to get up as he said, "No, no you didn't understand my question. What I meant was-"

"Shh! She's waking up," Ed hissed as Lamya's eyes began to flutter open.

All of the occupants in the room held their breath as Lamya's eyes slowly opened to reveal her crimson irises. Roy and his troop resisted the sudden urge to gasp.

'An Ishbalan? An Ishbalan helped the Elric brothers?' Roy thought as Lamya's eyes began to focus, 'Well… They always did make the strangest of alliances.'

Lamya smiled at all of the new faces and then she turned to see Alphonse bend over her bed.

"Hey. How's it going?" Alphonse whispered tenderly to Lamya.

Her smile widened as she responded, "Not too bad. I have a lot of visitors so that should be an upside, no?" Then Lamya began to try and sit up while asking even more questions, "How are you? Did you guys eat at all? Do you want me to-" But Ed interrupted her.

"To what? Make us something? Don't be such an idiot Lamya. You need to rest so stop- Oh…" Ed just leaned back in his chair and smirked at Lamya. Her eyes widened at his abrupt stop in his speech and this made his smirk grow. "Well, well, it looks like I'm not the only one who has a hard time staying still during recovery. Eh Lamya?" Ed teased.

A blush crossed her face as she tried to stutter out a response, "I-I…W-well, y-you see-"

"What? Do you we see Lil' Sis? A hint of truth behind that statement? Is that what we see?" Ed mocked as he leaned in close to Lamya, his smirk never wavering.

Suddenly a hand placed itself on Ed's right shoulder and Roy's voice could be heard. "Now, now, Ed. You can flirt with your girlfriend later. Right now you should be introducing us, like a mature adult," Roy smoothly said. And Ed did exactly what Roy wanted him to do.

"BASTARD! Get your hand the hell off of me!" Ed screamed as he swiped Roy's hand away, "And she's NOT my girlfriend!"

"My apologies Alphonse, my mistake," Roy said with a smirk.

At that Alphonse and Lamya blushed heavily but everyone noticed (including Alphonse and Lamya) that the couple didn't protest at all to that accusation. This made Riza smile and Scheiska giggled, which resulted in a heavier blush from the couple.

Roy turned to his prey and grasped her hand. "I am President Roy Mustang. Pleased to meet you Miss…" He waited for her to fill in the gap.

"Oh! Vetz. Lamya Vetz, Mr. President," Lamya stumbled out. Currently she was too preoccupied with the sudden contact and the sudden yet subtle glare that Alphonse was giving to Roy.

"Miss Vetz, a pleasure indeed," Roy flashed a smile before he lightly kissed Lamya's hand.

Her fading blush returned full force when Alphonse coughed a bit and gabbed Lamya's other hand. Noticing this Roy gave Lamya's hand one last squeeze and stepped back with a smirk. 'It seems that Alphonse is a little possessive with his crushes,' Roy thought with a slight chuckle.

Alphonse lightly grasped Lamya's hand and her attention went back to him. She smiled brightly at him and he returned the gesture before speaking. "I'm sorry Lamya. We forgot to introduce everyone. That is Miss Riza Hawkeye, Miss Schieska, Mr. Jean Havoc, Mr. Breda, Mr. Falman, and Mr. Fuery. They are all a part of President Mustang's cabinet," Alphonse said as he gestured to each respectful person.

Lamya bowed a little bit in her bed and smiled at everyone. "Pleasure to make you acquaintances," she said as looked at everyone.

They all smiled back at the young girl. They found that when around this girl it was easy to talk since the group didn't end up leaving until late into the evening.

"Is it that late all ready?" Schieska asked as she looked out the window.

A small sigh escaped Lamya's lips while she nodded slowly. "I suppose it's time to say goodnight," said a sad Lamya.

"That sucks. I don't know about anyone else but I was having a good time," Havoc commented as he stood up and stretched. Everyone nodded and concurred with the aforementioned statement.

Riza and Schieska had, by that time, situated themselves on Lamya's big hospital bed while the men leaned on various objects or sat in the empty chairs. Ergo it made it easier for Riza to pat Lamya's hand in reassurance.

"Don't worry. We'll try to come see you tomorrow. Ok?" Riza said as she stood up to leave.

Lamya just nodded and said her goodbyes. "I hope to see you all very soon! Be safe!" Lamya called as everyone waved and filed out of the room.

Edward and Alphonse smiled as they saw Lamya fall back into her bed with a satisfied smile. She looked at the two brothers and her eyes twinkled.

"Your family is so nice. Just like you described them," Lamya sighed with satisfaction, "Thank you so much for visiting me."

Edward lightly smacked Lamya's forehead. "Idiot. Why wouldn't we come to see you?" he said while walking toward the door.

"Bye Edward! Good night!!" Lamya called after Ed.

He waved without turning back and said, "Night Sis."

Alphonse watched his older brother walk out of the room before he turned to gaze at Lamya. She was wearing her hair in a low pony tail and the traditional hospital gown that he had seen so many times before and yet… She made this seemingly boring and neutral gown look radiant and god-like. The soft moonlight filtered in through the window on her left. It's light softened her features and made her even more beautiful.

A pleasant and content sigh escaped Alphonse's lips. She was just so beautiful that he could have stood there for hours gazing at her. Alas, it could not be since visiting hours won't allow it, the creepiness factor would also be a considerable problem.

"Good night Lamya. I am glad that you are feeling better," Alphonse whispered so as not to disrupt the serene environment.

The most beautiful smile graced Lamya's lips as she lovingly looked back at Alphonse. "Thank you Alphonse. I am happy that so many people came to see me. Thank you so much for such a nice time," Lamya's eyes twinkled with joy and Alphonse's heart began to beat faster.

"I'm glad. Well… See you tomorrow Lamya," Alphonse hesitated and then leaned in and tried to kiss Lamya on her cheek. She moved back in surprise and he missed her cheek but none the less he still kissed her, just on her-

"Good night Alphonse. I'll be waiting for you," Lamya whispered before she sunk back in embarrassment from the kiss.

Alphonse just nodded and backed out of her hospital room. When he closed the door and turned around he was met with expectant eyes. He blushed and stuttered, "W-what?"

Ed sighed dramatically and groaned, "Well, did you kiss her or not?"

There was a pause and everyone leaned in. Alphonse's blush just grew and his ability to form words stopped.

"You did, didn't you?"

Without his speaking ability Alphonse just nodded and rushed down the hall. Laughter and smiled followed him but he didn't care. He had a bigger problem on his mind.

How was he going to tell them that he missed and kissed her nose instead?

--

Phew!

OMGOSH! It took me so long to write this chapter. Ugh. It was SO painful.

Please inform me if it sucked. (Because I know it did but please tell me how to improve it). Sigh…

I am so sorry that my updates are so far apart from each other. I am going to REALLY try to update more quickly!! Promise!!

Ok. I am done!

Thank you MangoSorbet and dantecell!!

BONUS

What REALLY happened.

"They have been contacted doctor," the nurse said as she put down the receiver, "The Elric brothers have been detained."

The tall doctor turned his head away from Lamya and to the side. "Good. Now get back over here, the procedure is almost finished. Hand me the scalpel."

"Yes doctor," the nurse answered as she went for the said scalpel.

"Finally it is finished." :Lifts up a teddy bear:

"Oh thank you doctor!!"

"No problem little girl. Anything in the name of justice." :Swish: (That's him flying off. The nurse just walks away.)

--

All right. The torture is over…. For now.

Please enjoy!

See ya!!


	15. Chapter 15

Hi!!

Look! Look! It's another chapter!! Aren't you proud of me?

….

I see. Never mind. :Goes to cry in a corner:

Nothing to report.

On with the show!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was hunting the FMA Rights Shark. She went down deep into the depths of the ocean only to come back quickly with the bends. She forgot her tank. Stupid author, at this rate she'll never get those damned rights.

--

Lamya was on cloud nine.

It had been exactly one week since she arrived in Central and she was enjoying every minute of it. For six days she had been in the hospital and she almost went crazy. Just as Edward had pointed out, she was not the type to be held down for long.

So on her second night at the hospital she requested bandages and a clothe marker from Alphonse before he left for the night.

Alphonse, who could never refuse anything that Lamya requested, brought the said items the next day. He and Edward sat there and watched as she wrote ruins all over the bandages and then applied them to herself (with a little help from a blushing Alphonse).

Four days later she was healed enough to be released from the hospital.

Her doctor was quite shocked at her quick recovery until she pointed out what she did to shorten her stay.

He seemed quite interested so she wrote down some notes for him to follow in the future, if he wanted to use the healing alchemy. That seemed to calm him down a bit but he still wanted to keep Lamya for one more month.

President Mustang made a call to the hospital and finally got her out but it still puzzled her how the doctor reacted to her absence.

Now she was getting ready to go to lunch with the whole group or "family", as Lamya so fondly called them.

This is where Alphonse and Edward found her.

The two brothers walked into her room to see her humming a familiar tune while looking in the mirror to put on a summer hat. Sadly she was not succeeding on putting it on properly. Alphonse chuckled and walked over to her.

"Having a hard time?" He asked as he looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Surprised at his presence Lamya gasped and jumped a little bit. She turned to see him and Edward. Immediately she smiled at the brothers and greeted them accordingly, "Alphonse! Edward! Good morning!"

They smiled back, Ed nodded in response but Alphonse greeted her verbally, "Morning. Are you having trouble with your hat?"

A small blush crept on her face and she nodded. Alphonse just chuckled. "Would you like some help?"

Lamya's eyes grew. "Oh! Do you know how?"

He was going to answer but Ed beat him to it. "Yeah, Winry used to get her hat stuck in trees all the time and since he was the….tallest in the group he would help her get it and put it on her head. After a while he got pretty good at it," Ed stated as he leaned up against the door frame.

Alphonse turned back to Lamya and put his hands out. She nodded and handed him her hat.

Once he took it he immediately went to work. Since her hair was back in its usual style he couldn't pin it to her head so he took her hat and carefully but securely placed in on her head.

When he was finished he stood back to admire his work and then said, "Finished. How does it look?"

Lamya looked in the mirror and smiled. "It's perfect! Thank you Alphonse!" a blush came back as she continued, "I feel so foolish. You made it look so easy."

Laughing, Alphonse turned Lamya to face him. "Don't be. It's hard to put on hats if you're not used to them," Lamya nodded her head but kept her gaze on the floor so Alphonse lifted her face up and continued, "Now, that that is done, ready to go?"

"Yes!" Lamya cheered. The Elric brothers smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Like a child," Ed muttered as he stood up and offered her his arm. Lamya took it and Alphonse came onto her left side to take her other arm. And so they walked down the hallway and out into the fresh air.

Once they got outside Lamya stopped walking and closed her eyes. The Elric brothers just stopped and stared at her. But Lamya paid no heed to them, she just breathed in deeply and smiled.

After a couple of minutes they continued their walk to the outside café.

Lamya was smiling from ear to ear and waved at every person that moved. The people were nice and waved back and even said good morning, this made Lamya smile more and even skip a little.

If they hadn't been seen by the rest of the group then Edward would have laughed, but as it went, Roy Mustang was there…

When Lamya saw the family she let go of the Elrics and waved her hand in the air, calling, "Good morning!!"

Everyone turned to smile at Lamya and waved back. At that she grabbed the brothers' hands and ran as fast as she could to where everyone was. The only problem was that Lamya's speed greatly differed from that of the brothers and as a result they ended up being dragged.

The temptation to laugh was great but everyone held it back when they saw the joy on Lamya's face as she approached them. When she finally reached everyone she unceremoniously dumped the brothers on the ground.

"Isn't it such a beautiful day?" Lamya cheered as she ran up next to Riza. The Elric brothers had to take a breather from the running but Lamya looked unaffected while she stood there with the most innocent of smiles.

"Indeed it is. You look very happy today. Glad that you are out of the hospital?" Riza questioned as the group began to sit down at the outside table.

Lamya nodded her head and said, "Yes! Oh! And I need to thank you President Mustang for your kindness! Thank you so much for helping me!" She bowed in Roy's direction.

He just waved his hand at her and said, "Please, no thanks are necessary. And please, call me Roy." He leaned in and flashed his brilliant smile at Lamya from across the table. The smile attracted the waitress and she got all of their orders.

All of them had a good time. Many stories from memory lane were told to a smiling Lamya, who laughed at their antics towards each other, mainly between Ed and Roy.

Ed and Al blushed multiple times during the brunch but Lamya took no heed and even told some her tales of the Elric brothers and their strange behavior while she took care of them.

By the time they had finished their brunch everyone was well acquainted with everyone else's embarrassing moments.

Sadly it was time for the group to part but Lamya promised to come to the office with muffins tomorrow so the goodbyes weren't as depressing as before.

When everyone got up, a strong breeze blew through the street that picked up some flower petals and leaves. Two figures in the alley across the way began to move as well, when…

She couldn't help herself.

Lamya ran into the street and began to twirl with the petals and leaves, laughing all the while. Everyone on the street just stopped and stared at this happy young woman. Some of the local children joined Lamya in her dance, so that now it was a group of giggling and laughing people.

"What is she doing?" Havoc asked while lighting a cigarette.

Ed and Al just shrugged but then it hit Al like a ton of bricks.

"_Why do you stay here if you're trapped?" he asked but kept his gaze towards the sky._

"_Because I was waiting," whispered Lamya._

_Now Al turned to look at Lamya, she turned as well and smiled sadly. "I was waiting for the day when I could go outside onto my lawn and finally feel the warm sun on my skin and the cool grass underneath my feet. That's my dream. To enjoy being outside in the daytime and not be afraid for my life."_

At the exact same moment that Alphonse remembered this, Lamya twirled around to smile at him. He looked into her crimson eyes only to see absolute joy and freedom.

All of his memories came rushing back to him when he had crossed The Gate into Germany. Al had been so overtaken with emotion at his realization of freedom from The Gate that he had cried and laughed and danced his heart out with Ed and the Rose look alike watching from the side lines.

Much like how Lamya was acting but she wasn't crying, she was just rejoicing. That same emotion that he felt that day so long ago got caught in Alphonse's throat as he watched Lamya smiling at him and inviting him to dance.

Should he?

Bah! How could he refuse?

Alphonse walked slowly towards the twirling Lamya. She was preoccupied with the children around her when Alphonse lightly tapped her shoulder. At the touch Lamya turned around and into Alphonse's arms.

The two lovers glided through the street, lost in each other's eyes. Eyes filled with the same raw emotions that the other knew so well.

And everyone just watched them.

Somehow Ed understood, he understood the freedom that they were feeling. It was the feeling of freedom that he felt when he saw Alphonse in his human form for the first time in years. Tears threatened to fall but Ed held them in, not wanting to ruin the beautiful moment.

"She's free," Ed whispered, "She's free."

Havoc glanced at everyone else in the group and immediately understood. They also knew what it was like to be trapped. All of them had been desperate to be free of their war crimes and their crimes to the state when under the control of the homunculi. Everyone had felt relief when the homunculi fell, everyone.

Desperation was not a stranger to them and in understanding they all smiled and even began to dance themselves.

Havoc began to dance with Scheiska while Roy tried to coax Riza into a seemingly harmless waltz.

Lamya's laughter intertwined with Alphonse's as the couple twirled around in the street with little children circling their feet.

A rush of emotions burst through Lamya's heart and she glomped Alphonse. "I'm so happy! Alphonse I can feel the sun on my skin!" Lamya cheered as she twirled with her arms open to the sun light.

Alphonse laughed and grabbed her hand to pull her back into their joyous dance. "You're free Lamya! You're free!"

Hearing these words made Lamya stop. Everyone ceased and desisted their dancing and stared at the stunned Ishbalan.

All Lamya could do was stare Alphonse in the eyes as his words sunk in. He smiled softly at her to reassure her. Lamya's eyes then grew wide in realization. Her body began to shake as she cried tears of joy.

Alphonse just smiled more and gently held her close. She buried herself into Alphonse's chest while repeating his words, "I'm free, I'm free."

At first she whispered this but as time went by Lamya's voice began to get stronger.

"I'm free. I'm free! I'M FREE!!" Lamya cheered as she threw her arms around Alphonse's neck in pure joy.

He responded by lifting her up and twirling her as she laughed in triumph.

Everyone laughed with her and began to continue their dancing and cheering.

But while everyone enjoyed themselves two mysterious people looked on from a dark alley.

"She healed too quickly," a little woman said while standing with a tall man who was watching the scene before them.

He nodded in agreement, "Yes, we didn't have enough time to test out our specimen. But none the less we did find a new and more exciting sacrifice."

"That may be true but what happens when the Elric brothers wander off? What will we do then? We were supposed to take care of them until Master was ready for them," the woman spat at the tall man.

"Hold your tongue woman," the tall man snapped, "If the Elric brothers decide to wander off then we will just have to…redirect them…"

The two people looked at each other with wicked grins. They then watched the Elric brothers and their new found sacrifice for a little while longer until they departed in silence.

--

"Brother, what do you think about going to Resembool?" Al asked while holding Lamya's hand.

At the question Ed didn't stop walking but his shoulders did seem to tense.

Currently the trio was going back to a hotel after a long day.

After the dancing spree everyone had gone to work, leaving the trio to wander the city. They had the best time looking into the different shops. Many times they had to run away from people who recognized the Elric brothers.

Although the brothers were back they still didn't want to be known to the public, yet. First they had to see a certain someone before they actually went back into the public's eye. And so they ran from anyone who persisted in calling them by their true names.

Lamya was confused at first but then she just accepted it. Running was one of her favorite past times so she had nothing to complain about. In fact she ran so fast sometimes that she had to run BACK to the panting Elric brothers who were exhausted from all of the exercise.

Alphonse had offered to buy Lamya some things in the shops but she refused and instead just enjoyed the day. But she did point out some trinkets that Miss Rockbell would have liked.

Poor Edward blushed every time they walked past an automail shop.

What they did buy when they were out was a cane.

Sadly, Ed had out grown his automail again, much to his delight, and he began to limp everywhere. So they bought him a simple brown cane to keep him balanced before going….

This is where they were now. Alphonse and Lamya were happily holding hands, as friends of course (Cue eye roll from Ed). And poor Ed was limping with a plain cane while thinking of Winry.

He hesitated in answering Al for a few minutes but Ed knew that he eventually answer his younger brother.

What was he supposed to say?

'Sure Alphonse. There is nothing that I would like more than to go to Winry, the woman that I have secretly loved for… a century? AND then be embarrassed when I find out that she has moved on to find a more suitable person for herself. That's exactly what I want to do.'

"Is there grass in Resembool?"

Edward turned to see Lamya looking at Alphonse expectantly. Alphonse laughed and nodded, "Yes. There is grass everywhere in Resembool."

Lamya's eyes sparkled at the thought and smiled.

'Great,' Ed thought as he went back to looking at the road ahead, 'Now the guilt factor is involved. Lamya wants to go to Resembool as much as Al did but now that she knows that grass is there…. Crap. What the hell am I supposed to do? How can I face Winry after leaving her like that? Scratch that. How can I face Winry's wrench after leaving her like that?'

A sad sigh escaped Ed's lips as his shoulder's drooped even more.

But before he could debate it any longer a great pain seared up Ed's left leg and he gasped.

"Damn! Fine! We can go to Resembool! We're leaving tomorrow," Ed grumbled as he quickened his pace to the hotel.

Alphonse and Lamya stopped to look at each other. They both wondered if Ed was okay but were too afraid to ask so they just stood there and watched him limp away.

"Would you two hurry up? I want to get to the hotel before I turn fifty…. Again," Ed grouched while still walking away from the couple.

Both of them began to walk after Ed immediately but Alphonse had a little mirth to voice when he teased, "Well, that's if Winry's wrench allows you to live that long."

The couple giggled and quickly walked towards the hobbling form in the distance.

"Oh no," a tall man said as he walked out of the shadows, "Let's hope you live long enough for Master. See you at the station, Fullmetal Alchemist."

--

So….. Yeah…..

I was informed by my beta reader that the BONUS' were confusing…. The last BONUS DID **NOT** REALLY HAPPEN!! It was just a joke… A joke that is now dead because I had to explain that. Thanks a lot MangoSorbet. Love you! ;P

Let it be known that Dantecell was not confused. He groaned at the last Bonus. Which he found it to be contradictory to the original meaning of the word, since it is from the Latin word Bonus which means good. That last bonus failed that expectation.

A BONUS? Hmm….. I shall write that later.

So now the BONUS!!

I just wanted to show all of you what my beta readers say in their reviews of my story.

This is where Alphonse and Edward found her._ (With a steak knife in her chest.)_

A small blush crept on her face and she nodded. Alphonse just chuckled. "Would you like some help?" _(No, I figure I should struggle for no reason.)_

Lamya's eyes grew. "Oh! Do you know how?" _(No, I was just shitting you.)_

He was going to answer but Ed beat him to it. "Yeah, Winry used to get her hat stuck in trees all the time and since he was the….tallest in the group he would help her get it and put it on her head. After a while he got pretty good at it," Ed stated as he leaned up against the door frame. _(That is when he realized that he insulted himself and he cursed himself.)_

All of them had a good time. Many stories from memory lane were told to a smiling Lamya, who laughed at their antics towards each other, mainly between Ed and Roy. _(Those love birds!)_

Sadly it was time for the group to part but Lamya promised to come to the office with muffins tomorrow so the goodbyes weren't as depressing as before. _The muffins, it's always the muffins._

Much like how Lamya was acting but she wasn't crying, she was just rejoicing. That same emotion that he felt that day so long ago got caught in Alphonse's throat as he watched Lamya smiling at him and inviting him to dance. _(He thought that, but it was just gas.)_

"Hold your tongue woman," the tall man snapped, "If the Elric brothers decide to wander off then we will just have to…redirect them…" _(We will make Yachiru their guide!!)_

-- _(I am a break!!)_

And there you have it.

Those are my amazing beta readers.

THANK YOU MANGOSORBET AND DANTECELL!! :)

Please enjoy!!

See ya!!


	16. Chapter 16

Hi!!

What is up?

MangoSorbet was threatening my life so I decided to write my next chapter. Yeah………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

So on with the show!

Disclaimer: There was a singing man who sounded like a dead goat throttling a wombat. But this was no ordinary man, oh no, this man knew how to get the rights to FMA. Sadly Atemu'sLotus shot him before he could give them to her… If it wasn't for his horrible singing… Sigh…

* * *

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes! Oh, this is just so exciting! I've never been on a train before!"

Ed chuckled as he watched Lamya wander around the train station in awe while Alphonse tried to keep her on course towards the train.

The rest of the gang was also watching along in amusement but, sometimes they would point at different objects just to distract her away from Alphonse. This of course made it harder for him to keep Lamya on track but it was all good fun.

Eventually Alphonse gave up and grabbed Lamya's hand. He smiled at her and promised, "I'll give you a full tour of the train station when we get back so let's get on the train. Okay?"

Lamya nodded with a blush and squeezed Alphonse's hand.

At that, Havoc wolf whistled and Ed proceeded to beat Havoc up. But the couple didn't notice, instead they enjoyed each other's company while Alphonse pointed out some details of the train.

It was weird for the Elric brothers. They had been on trains for most of their life so none of this had any novelty for them but Lamya's fascination with everything made them look at the world in a whole new light.

Now all Ed could see was the amazing architecture of the train station and the busy yet happy people who hustled and bustled around a cheery and naïve couple.

Except for three people that seemed to keep a good distance away from Al and Lamya but-- not enough to lose the couple. But instead of pondering on this, Ed's mind wandered to the problem at hand.

It felt good to be back home but now Ed had to face Winry and he wasn't sure that he was up to the challenge. His feelings for his mechanic grew over the years of separation and it hurt just to think about how she was all alone. Was he ready to face Winry? That was the question of the month.

Suddenly Ed felt himself falling forward with slender arms wrapping around his neck.

"Edward! Isn't the train an amazing invention?" Lamya squealed as she finished glomping him.

A smile shown itself on Ed's face as he looked at Lamya. "I guess. Why? Did you think that we were going to walk to Resembool?" Ed teased.

Lamya blushed. "Well, yes. I never heard of a train so I thought…"

"You've never heard of a train?" Roy asked as he and the gang walked up.

Everyone was surprised at this discovery but the Elric brothers, not so much. They knew how trapped Lamya was in her small world so it should be no surprise that she wouldn't know something about the outside world.

An uncomfortable silence fell between the group as Lamya tried her best to not look embarrassed from the situation. Alphonse's heart ached as he watched **his**- I mean _**just**_ Lamya become embarrassed.

He wasn't going to stand for this.

"Well since you've never seen a train before, what do you think? Pretty big huh?" Alphonse asked while walking up next to Lamya who looked at him appreciatively.

Her eyes sparkled as she responded, "Yes! It's so big and shiny! The steam engine is such an ingenious invention. I would love to see how it all works on the inside." At that she began to eye the train as if it would pop open at any minute and divulge its secrets.

Ed laughed, "Yeah we'll do that as soon as we get on the train. Come on let's go." He turned around and started for the train, leaving everyone else to say their goodbyes.

When that was finished, Al grabbed Lamya's hand once more and gently guided her towards the train.

The couple from before bumped into Ed and hurried onto the train without a word.

"Excuse me?" Ed grumbled as he boarded the train.

That couple was really starting to piss him off but he had grown over the years, contrary to what some may believe. He had learned to pick your fights and how to behave properly in public. Of course this is no thanks to all of the years of service that the Elric brothers had with the United States government.

"Brother? Are you okay?" Alphonse asked as he helped Lamya into her seat. He looked concerned so Ed just waved him off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Its people's manners that aren't okay," Ed replied with a grumble as he sat next to a hyper Lamya.

Alphonse just smiled at his older brother. All those years in America had left an impact on the brothers. Manners and etiquette were everything. If they didn't behave properly then their jobs would be in danger.

Of course money didn't really mean anything to the brothers but they did need something to occupy their time. The haunting death of Lamia, their mother, Maes Hughes, Scar, their father, and so many others left them desperate for a distraction. Anything to entertain their minds before they went insane.

But now they were home. Their old habits began to resurface again but then again the stubborn habits of being old men came up now and then so it was a unique experience. The best part was probably when Ed could brag about how much older he was then Mustang.

Then there was the problem of women. In all of the years that the brothers had been in America they had gotten many offers. Women swooned over the Elric brothers like there was no tomorrow but they were easily ignored.

Some friends had given them "tips" when it came to women but again the Elric brothers ignored it. Now they wished that they hadn't.

'Why the hell didn't I listen to those old farts? How am I supposed to face Winry after all of these years?' Ed thought as he looked sullenly out the window.

Alphonse followed suit. 'Does Lamya really think that we're just friends? Does she think that I am just like a brother? Does she feel the same way towards me like she does toward Ed or President Mustang? Why is this so complicated?'

While the two brothers were contemplating on their situations, Lamya waved to the people on the platform. But one individual caught her eye. It was a man in a black cape who mysteriously disappeared when she refocused on him.

Lamya was getting a little weary. First there was that couple that kept following her and Alphonse around the platform and then there was this man. Was she getting paranoid?

Not only that but ever since she got out of the hospital she had been feeling a little different. She couldn't put a finger on what it was but she always felt like she was being watched, along with the Elric brothers.

"What's going on?" Lamya whispered as her gaze fell to the ground.

The train started with a jolt and snapped the trio back into reality. They waved to everyone on the platform and then went back to their own little worlds. It was pretty boring after a while until the food trolley came along.

The way that Lamya's eyes light up made the brothers laugh and they just had to buy some sweets. For most of the trip the brothers pointed out different things like historical places and landmasses. When the grassy plains came into view Lamya's heart jumped.

"Grass," Lamya breathed.

"Yes, is not beautiful?" A deep voice asked.

The trio turned to see the couple from before. Lamya gasped and then nodded. Slowly she touched Ed's hand so as to warn him to keep his guard up. There was something about this couple that put her on edge.

Ed didn't show it but he felt Lamya tense up and he could feel her reach out to him. He looked sternly at Alphonse who nodded. These people were not to be trusted… yet.

The couple was an odd pair.

The woman was short but well built. Her black hair was held back in a tight bun and it looked like she was in pain whenever she smiled.

The man beside her had to hunch down to properly fit on the train. He had blonde hair with startling blue eyes that held this dark aura while his smiling face said otherwise. They were both wearing black suits with tan cloaks.

If Ed didn't know any better he would say that these guys were trying to pose as KGB men but then again they were doing a lousy job of it.

The man introduced himself first.

"Hello, my name Hinese Garfilli and this my assistant Ikobe Crew," The man said in a strange accent that sounded familiar but Ed couldn't place it, "we travelers. This first time in country?"

Lamya smiled and nodded. "Yes it is. Well, for me at least. I'm afraid that I don't get out very much."

"No? But you tan. No because of tan sun?" the man said in a disgruntled voice.

That voice sounded way too familiar to Ed, which made the hairs on his neck stand straight up. The tone that he used with Lamya was like how the Nazis used to talk with the Jews or anyone else who defied them. Ed didn't like it, not one bit.

An agitated Ed turned to the man and growled, "And what's wrong with tan skin? You got a problem with that?"

"As matter of fact I do. You not of pure blood. Demon child are you," the man snapped back.

This was not good since this man obviously towered over the brothers and Al did not want to fight on the train. The space was too small and there were innocent people around that could be hurt in the crossfire.

Ed looked like he was about to challenge the man so Alphonse reached over and grabbed Ed's arm.

"Not here brother, not here," Al whispered harshly while Ed glared at the man before him.

Surprisingly the woman beside the man just kept staring at Lamya as if she held the key to something. Lamya wiggled under her intense stare and decided that she wanted to get some fresh air so she stood up to go to the back of the train.

This angered the tall man and he snarled, "Get back in seat demon woman." He pushed Lamya back into her seat.

And then Ed exploded.

Ed yelled and pushed the man back into the seat behind him and the woman ducked to the side. She grabbed Lamya's arm and began to drag her to the back of the train while Ed began to punch the man across the face.

Al noticed Lamya being dragged away. He started go after her but then he felt a fist connect with his right cheek. Flying to the ground Alphonse watched as Ed started to beat the man with his right arm while the man went for Ed's stomach.

All of the passengers in the car began to scream and stand up. This made it harder for Ed to get his blows in until an explosion from the last car rocked the train.

Ed fell on the floor next to Al while everyone else fell back into their seats.

"What the hell was that?" Ed yelled over the screams of the people in the car.

"I don't know but it came from-LAMYA!" Al screamed as he scrambled to get to his feet. Not knowing what was going on Ed followed the rushed Alphonse to the back of the train.

'That woman took Lamya to the back of the train!! Is she okay? Where is she? Where's Lamya?' Al thought as he scrambled passed passengers who were running away from the explosion.

Suddenly Alphonse stopped. There was no more train left to run on. But of course Ed was still running so he bumped into Al and they both fell into the rubble.

Rubbing his head Ed stood up to see pieces of the caboose all over the track. "What the he-"

FWOSH!

Ed looked up to see the short lady from before go flying overhead only to recover herself at the last moment. She quickly got up and looked around terrified.

"Hinese right. She demon child," the woman whispered barely loud enough for Ed and Al to hear her.

Confused as hell Alphonse got up and yelled at the woman. "Where is Lamya? What did you do to her?"

But the woman didn't have time to respond as another person came flying towards her. She screamed as one of her accomplices landed next to her. A few more came running from behind Ed and Al.

This did not help. Al was about to yell again when he saw a blur of red and white whisk past him.

The two brothers watched with astonishment as Lamya apparated in front of them.

She looked a little worse for the wear but other than that she was fine. Lamya stared at the people in front of her, just waiting for their next move.

A man came running at Lamya but she seemed to vanish into thin air and then reappeared beside the man. She hit him in what looked to be random places on his body.

Ed did a double take when he realized that she hit all of the man's pressure points. And then the offender went down for the count.

Lamya looked at the rest of her prey and dared them to come closer. Feeling her lethal gaze the group began to run away.

"Oh no you don't," Lamya muttered as she bent down onto the ground and began to draw intricate alchemic arrays. When she finished she clapped her hands and delicately placed her hands down on the beautiful transmutation circle.

A violent explosion occurred that rocked the earth underneath the running offenders. They screamed as they were engulfed in this huge bird like cage.

All the Elric brothers could do was stand there like telephone poles.

Lamya? Fighting? Lamia didn't know how to fight. Did she? Those two are definitely different in their own right. But Lamya? Did she… Did she just kick bad guy's ass?

"_You bet she did, which is why I need her so_," a strange voice echoed in Ed's mind. He grabbed his head out of confusion.

"Who the hell was that?" Ed grumbled as he looked up to see Lamya turn around and stare at them with wide eyes.

Lamya stood still as she stared in shock at the Elric brothers. "Umm… Is everyone on the train okay?" She asked with uncertainty.

Alphonse stepped back. "Did- Were you the one that made that explosion?"

A blush crept upon Lamya's face as she slowly nodded. She looked down at her feet and scratched the back of her head with a look of embarrassment.

"It's been a while since I've done that kind of alchemy…" she murmured as she played with a strand of her ivory hair.

When Lamya looked up her eyes widened and she screamed. "Edward! Alphonse! Run!!"

The brothers turned around to see the giant man from before looming over them. The man's massive fist came crashing down on the brothers but they quickly jumped out of the way.

Ed rolled into an offensive stance while Alphonse ran towards Lamya to make sure that they were both out of the way of the fight.

Once Alphonse reached Lamya they grabbed onto each other's arms and looked at Ed for a split second before running to the alchemic built birdcage.

They didn't get very far though when another explosion shook the area. Alphonse wrapped his arms around Lamya protectively as they fell on their knees to the ground.

Lamya stopped and looked back. A huge cloud of smoke blocked everyone's vision but it just increased Lamya's worry.

"Edward?" Lamya yelled into the cloud. She stood up and strained her ears.

No one answered so Lamya ran into the cloud.

Alphonse shouted for her but then he noticed that the birdcage was destroyed in the explosion and panicked.

There was no one left in the birdcage. They all escaped.

"Not good," Alphonse muttered as he stared at the empty cage.

A shrilled scream filled Alphonse's ears.

Lamya.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!! EDWARD!!"

"Not good," Alphonse said more sternly as he ran into the settling cloud of dust.

* * *

Okay, so I know that took a long time.

I have no excuse except that the IT center took my laptop to "clean and update" it or as I like to call it "brainwashing" it.

They erased everything on my laptop. Ergo before they took it I copied everything onto three CD's. Stick it to the man!

So I shall try to write another chapter right away but again it's kinda hard.

Please forgive me for being so tardy!

Thank you to my beta readers MangoSorbet and dantecell!!

EXTRA!!

Alphonse: Wait. That train scene seems a little familiar.

Ed: No duh. Only authors without an imagination go back to the old robber on the train bit.

Atemu'sLotus creeps out of the woodwork and chuckles evilly.

Atemu'sLotus: Hehehehehehehehehehehehe…… Oh really? Well then it looks like I'll be unimaginative and have a character death as well. Whose life is on the line again?

Ed stiffens and slowly turns towards Atemu'sLotus.

Al sweat drops and goes to find Lamya.

Alphonse: You brought it on yourself brother. I'm going to go and see if Lamya would like to go see the pictures.

Ed: ………

Atemu'sLotus: smirk Now what were you saying?

Ed: This is the best damn story in the whole freakin' world.

Atemu'sLotus: Good boy…

* * *

There you go!

Actually there is a character death in the next chapter but it's a secret, so Shhhh!!

Please enjoy!


	17. Chapter 17

Helluw!!

I found this new manga/anime and I LOVE IT!!

It's called Black Cat! If you have read it already then PM me and we'll discuss how awesome it is!!

Oh... ON WITH THE SHOW!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus kept hitting the snooze button on her alarm clock wondering, 'Why is my alarm on in the first place?' She later learned that she was going to get up early to catch those FMA rights. Ugh... I hate mornings...

* * *

"Time to fight big guy. Are you ready?" Ed chided.

Hinese nodded. "You all die today."

Ed stood up and ran towards Hinese. He prepared himself for a lower kick to the shin to take down the big man but Hinese jumped up to stomp on Ed.

"I no care what Master say, you die along demon," Hinese growled as he let gravity take its course.

But Ed rolled out of the way and kicked Hinese in the side with his left leg.

The big man fell into agony. Sadly Ed followed suit since the automail didn't enjoy the sudden contact.

"Ughh!!" Ed grunted as he held his leg in pain.

And then the explosion happened.

"Lamya?" Ed looked around to see if she was near by but he couldn't see through the heavy screen of smoke.

Slowly but surely Ed stood up, being extra careful not to put too much pressure on his aching leg. Since he couldn't see more than two feet in front of him, Ed put out his right arm to feel around.

Suddenly he came upon Hinese. Or at least what was left of him. A tall man stood over the dead giant and licked his blood soaked fingers.

The scene made Ed's stomach lurch.

"Wh-what did you do?"

The creepy man turned his eyes in Ed's direction and smiled.

"Why hello Mr. Elric. My, my don't you look delicious."

Ed stepped back a bit but not fast enough. Mr. Creepy had already began to lunge at Ed with amazing speed. At the last second Ed flipped to the left, his cheek still getting cut.

'Better than my head.'

"Oh but Mr. Elric I would never kill you... Just play with you," Mr. Creepy cooed as he turned to slice Ed's right arm.

Mr. Creepy grinned as his fingers were torn from trying to rip Ed's automail. The amount of strength that Mr. Creepy put into his scratch rattled Ed's automail to the point where Ed collapsed.

The amount of strain that his automail parts were experiencing was too much for Ed to move. All he could do was to try and crawl away from Mr. Creepy.

Suddenly a sharp pain ripped across Ed's back as Mr. Creepy let loose on Ed's skin.

"Cute M-"

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!! EDWARD!!"

A sudden gush of cooling wind swept over Edward as a red and white blur flew above him and into Mr. Creepy.

The crack that Mr. Creepy made as he hit the ground was sickening. Ed shivered as he thought of the impact.

But the shivers he felt then were nothing compared to what he felt when Lamya spoke.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Alphonse stopped in mid-tracks. His whole body froze from the intense vibe emitting from the pissed off woman in front of him.

This didn't faze Mr. Creepy though. He just laughed, "Very entertaining my dear sacrifice but now I must go. Take care of Mr. Elric will you? Use that beautiful magic on him. Ta-Ta!"

With that Mr. Creepy vanished and the dust settled around them.

Alphonse stood there in shock as Lamya rushed over to take care of Edward.

Slowly Lamya knelt down next to Ed. She caressed his face and whispered, "It's okay now Edward. Everything will be alright."

The frightening woman that existed five seconds ago seemed just like a nightmare. Total love and compassion filled Lamya's eyes and that was all that Ed needed as he fell into a deep sleep.

Still staring down at Edward, Lamya spoke, "Alphonse can you please help me? I need some clean bandages and an utensil to write with."

All he could do was nod and run off to find the supplies. Alphonse's mind reeled with what just happened.

'Did Lamya just emit a murderous aura? I've never seen anyone so angry before... Well, at least not so dramatically. She's usually so calm.' Alphonse thought as he silently walked over rubble and passed panicking passengers.

He found the medical supplies but people kept staring at his calm demeanor. 'Was she always this powerful? Is this how she survived all of these years in the horrible hellhole?'

Alphonse ran back to Lamya and Edward just as Lamya was examining the lacerations on the elder Elric's back.

Lamya finally looked Alphonse in the eye and smiled. "Thank you Alphonse. Now let's hurry up and heal him."

It was weird watching Lamya work, at least to Alphonse. He had seen her apply the bandages before but he had never seen her activate them.

The first thing she did was clean the elder brother's back. Sometimes Ed would hiss or grunt but never the less he stayed asleep throughout the whole process.

After the bandages were applied with the help of Alphonse the arrays had to be activated. Lamya gently placed Edward on the ground, so that he was lying on his stomach.

Very carefully she tapped different arrays with her left hand and stopped at Edward's left shoulder. Lamya did the same thing with her right hand but she ended at Edward's lower right back. Then she slowly traced her way back to the middle of his back while following the lines of the alchemic arrays. As she did so the lines began to glow.

"_Finis," _Lamya whispered as a bright silver light filled the area.

It was so intense that Alphonse had to cover his eyes but Lamya just knelt there, her eyes gently closed and a small smile on her lips.

The bright light faded away and Alphonse slowly opened his eyes. He stared silently at his older brother and then looked at Lamya.

"He looks exactly the same."

"Haha... He's not supposed to transform Alphonse," Lamya chuckled, "His wounds weren't too deep so they'll heal fairly quickly but his automail needs to be taken off."

Whipping his head around Alphonse gaged, "W-what? Take it off?"

Lamya slowly nodded and closed her eyes. "Yes, take it off," she opened her eyes and stared down at the sleeping Elric, "It's putting too much strain on his body. If he keeps it on then I fear he'll die of exhaustion."

She looked up at Alphonse and he sighed, "Alright... I'll take it off him. I'll carry him to the train platform and you can just carry his arm and leg. It'll be easier that way."

"Okay. Thank you Alphonse," Lamya whispered as she moved away from Edward. She refused to look at Alphonse as he proceeded to "de-limb" his older brother.

'I feel terrible. But I don't know any formulas that deal with automail. Plus I have no idea what his automail is made of...I'm so useless... I'm sorry Edward,' Lamya thought as she held back a sad sigh.

Alphonse silently handed her the appendages and proceeded to figure out a way to carry his older brother.

No one spoke for a couple of minutes and the air was thick with tension.

That is until Alphonse spoke.

"Thanks for everything Lamya."

She looked up suddenly and stared at Alphonse while he was still looking at Ed. Alphonse smiled and began to make a backpack that would carry Ed. He took off his jacket and Ed's torn one to transmute a purple carrier.

Lamya quickly took off the red shawl wrapped around her waist and handed it to Alphonse who smiled at her generosity, and took it to create straps for the Ed/carrier.

As Alphonse put the Ed/carrier on his back Lamya wiped Ed's sweaty brow.

The silence was killing her but she didn't know what to say. Alphonse had just thanked her for helping but she believed that she really didn't do anything to deserve that. 'How am I supposed to make conversation when I feel so guilty?' Lamya thought as she wordlessly followed Alphonse to the train platform.

Since the train stopped, or rather exploded, a mile and half away from the Resembool platform, it didn't take very long to get to Resembool Station.

The greeting that Alphonse and Lamya got was unforgettable.

Lamya and Alphonse looked at the wall before them for about a minute until Lamya put down Ed's automail. She picked up a rock and drew a transmutation circle. After that a bright silver light appeared, along with some stairs.

Alphonse went up the stairs first, much to Lamya's encouragement. When they got up the stairs, the Station's Master was in the middle of them giving directions. And then he saw Alphonse...with Ed... and Lamya who was holding Ed's appendages.

Quite a sight to see.

"WHA??" The Station Master screamed as he dropped the clip board that he was holding and vigorously pointed at the trio.

Alphonse sweat dropped at the outburst.

"Umm... Excuse me? May we have a carriage or something to help us to get to the Rockbell residence?" Lamya politely asked while stepping closer to the Station Master.

Sadly he was too much in shock to answer her so the lady at the ticket stand answered for him.

"Why yes, you can get one around the corner," the nice lady said as she pointed in the direction stated.

Lamya nodded her thanks and proceeded to lead the party towards the rent-a-carriages.

Everyone else stared as a ragged Ishbalan and Amestrian walked past with a wounded Amestrian strapped to the other Amestrian's back. Not to mention that the Ishbalan was carrying the arm and leg of the wounded Amestrian.

An older gentleman was leaning on the rent-a-carriage when the trio rounded the corner. He immediately stood to attention and got in the carriage as Lamya placed Ed's appendages in the back.

"How much-" Lamya began to ask but the older man held up his hand to stop her.

He smiled gently and said, "For the Elric brothers the ride is free."

Lamya smiled back and turned around to help Alphonse get Edward into the back of the carriage. The elderly man came to their aid and even helped Lamya into the front seat.

Once they were one the road the elderly man began the conversation.

"Now I've seen these riff-raffs before but the little lady I haven't. Are you an old friend of theirs?"

Lamya smiled at him and answered, "I'm a new old friend. I found them a couple of months ago in a little cave."

"A little cave? Oh don't tell me that they were ruffed up too," the elder man chuckled and then held up his hand, "Don't answer that. I already know. I've known them since they were little and they have **always **gotten into trouble.Although I've never seen them as bad as this." At that he sped up the horses.

Feeling ashamed about the situation Lamya kept quiet. Even the green grass waving at her in the wind could not cheer her up.

Alphonse noticed her silence and turned around to see Lamya looking down at her hands in her lap in a melancholy manner.

As not to startle her, Alphonse gently tapped Lamya's left shoulder. Lamya looked back at Alphonse in confusion but he just smiled. He stretched over the back of the front seat, took one of her hands in his, and began to examine it.

He slowly opened her fingers one by one and with each one he gently caressed. After that he began to softly massage her palm.

The elder man had noticed this by now and looked at Alphonse in confusion. When he looked up at the young lady he almost chuckled.

Lamya was totally enamored in what Alphonse was doing. A dancing chicken could pop out of nowhere and dance it's little heart out but Lamya would never notice it.

Now that he had their attention Alphonse began to speak.

"Isn't it amazing that these delicate hands could do so much? When brother and I were unconscious Lamya carried us all the way back to her house. And in the rain! Then she took care of us while her neighbors searched for us but that didn't stop her. Nope," Alphonse continued to examine her hand while the elderly man listened intently.

"She was also going to sacrifice her own happiness for our safety by staying behind as a distraction while we escaped for Central. Instead our plan went sour and she jumped in the line of fire to save our lives. That gut wound that she got was really nasty. She almost bled to death but she held on."

Again the elderly man looked at Lamya and this time smiled as he saw her eyes water up from Alphonse's story.

"Then when the train was being hijacked she singlehandedly caught all of the perpetrators. After that she cleaned and bandaged brother's wounds with the skill that her mother taught her, her mother being an alchemist who studied healing alchemy. In all of those situations Lamya only thought of us and our safety."

Alphonse then paused in his speech and looked up at Lamya. She looked at him with teary eyes and he smiled.

"Lamya is very precious to us and I don't know what I would do without her," Alphonse said proudly as he stared into her crimson eyes.

Tears fell from Lamya's face while the elderly man smiled and whispered, "Well, if Miss Lamya treated your brother with that much care then I don't think we have that much to worry about."

The subtle compliment brought a small smile to Lamya's face as she wiped away her tears.

"Here," Alphonse handed her his handkerchief and Lamya gladly accepted it.

The elderly man enjoyed watching the couple out of the corner of his eye and was sad when he had to ruin the moment by saying, "Here we are, the Rockbell residence."

Alphonse was the first one to look at his old second home. Immediately he hopped out of the back seat and offered Lamya his hand. She politely took it and said her thanks as she got out of the carriage.

"Am I seeing things? Alphonse is that you?"

The familiar voice made Al's heart jump as he turned around to see... nothing. It was when he looked down that he saw Granny Pinako.

"Granny!!"

Alphonse dove for the little old woman and embraced her. She smiled at his warm welcome but was stiff in disbelief.

Finally Al let go of her and Pinako was given a chance to breathe.

"Alphonse, how-"

But Alphonse stopped her. "We'll explain later Granny, right now Ed needs help."

"Of course he does," Granny muttered as she walked passed Alphonse only to bump into Lamya. Literally.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lamya said as she looked down at the older woman before her, "Edward's in the back. Here let me show you."

Granny watched as the young woman hurried to the back of the carriage. Alphonse followed the young woman to the back of the carriage and gently touched her back to move her to the side. When the young woman didn't react strangely to the intimate touch Granny smiled.

"Got yourself a girlfriend huh?" Granny whispered as she went to the back of the carriage.

"What was that Granny?"

"Oh nothing, now what ha- Oh my, he got himself beaten up pretty badly didn't he?" commented Pinako as she saw the unconscious, bandaged, and de-limbed Ed. "Well bring him inside. He can go into his old room. You'll just have to dust everything off when you get in there Alphonse."

Alphonse nodded and climbed into the back of the carriage to get his brother. Once Ed was strapped to Alphonse's back he began to walk towards the house.

Lamya grabbed Ed's automail and bowed to the coachman. "Thank you for the nice trip," she said as she stood up to smile at the elder man.

"No little lady, thank you. Now take care of yourself," he responded as he climbed back into the front seat and rode away.

Granny watched as the young woman smiled some more at the last comment and then went inside the house.

As Lamya walked into the Rockbell home she noticed how spacious it was. Then she noticed that Alphonse was nowhere in sight.

"Umm... Alphonse? Alph-"

"You can put Ed's arm and leg in Winry's workshop," Granny said as she stepped next to Lamya, "Here let me show you where."

With a soft thank you Lamya followed Granny into the back of the house and helped her drop off Ed's appendages. After that was done Granny went up stairs to check on the Elric brothers, Lamya of course followed suit.

When they entered Ed's room Alphonse was trying to tuck in his older brother without hurting him but to no success. Lamya rushed over to take over the situation.

Alphonse smiled as Lamya delicately tucked Ed in and even checked his bandages before standing up and turning to face the rest of the company in the room.

Meanwhile Pinako was observing how this young lady carefully treated Ed. But what she enjoyed most was how Alphonse seemed enthralled in the young woman's movements.

'Very interesting,' thought Pinako as the young woman finished with Ed and turned around.

Alphonse smiled and began the introductions. "Granny Pinako this is Lamya Vetz, Lamya this is Granny Pinako."

Lamya politely bowed when mentioned and smiled at Granny Pinako. Pinako just nodded in approval.

And then she smiled. "My, my you are a very pretty young woman. You must stay for the show."

"Show?" the two young people questioned.

Pinako nodded and took a puff of her pipe. "Yes, the show. Winry will be back in half and hour with two very special friends."

Let the show begin.

* * *

SUMMER!!

I can breathe! And now WRITE!!

Please help me improve upon my writing so I can learn and so that you all can get a better experience out of my story! If you have any tips or think that character is acting weird please inform me and I shall try to correct it!

Hehehe... I can't wait for the next chapter. I wonder who those two special friends are? Ahmm... Hehehehehehe... Dang Ed's in trouble.

Anyways!

BONUS!!

And then she smiled. "My, my you are a very pretty young woman. You must stay for the show."

"Show?" the two young people questioned.

Pinako nodded and took a puff of her pipe. "Yes, the show. Winry will be back in half and hour with two very special friends."

_**TIME LAPSE!**_

"Granny!! I'm home!!"

"FLOP!"

"FLOP!!"

Winry walks into Ed's room because the door is open.

"What's- ED!!"

"FLOP!"

"FLOP!!"

"Huh?"

O.O

"WINRY!! And?"

**O.O**

"MY DANCING PLAtYPUSES?? no!! I promised!!"

**:(**

"Flop..."

**:(**

"Flop..."

* * *

Aww!!

My poor platypuses!!

Please enjoy!

See ya later!!


	18. Chapter 18

Hello.

Please forgive this late update but my beta readers and I were on vacation. Lo seinto.

Well, that's it!

On with the show!!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was walking along the beach when she saw the rights to FMA floating in the water. She quickly ran over to them but was stopped by the big booming voice "THERE IS AN ELECTRICAL STORM IN THE AREA. GET OFF THE BEACH. I REPEAT, GET OFF THE BEACH ATEMU'S LOTUS." ...Damn booming voice.

* * *

Every twenty minutes Lamya would go upstairs to check on Edward's condition but she would always find him the same.

Asleep.

And so the day went on. Alphonse had gotten their luggage from the train station while Lamya helped Granny Pinako prepare the rooms. Lamya also began dinner so that Granny could rest and smoke her pipe in peace.

Lamya was just setting the table when Alphonse came through the door in a huff.

"What's wrong Alphonse?" Lamya asked as she set a plate down on the table.

He looked at her briefly before turning towards Granny. "Granny Pinako why are there kiddy toys in the shed?"

Granny just smiled and said, "It's all about the show young man. Now go chop that wood that I asked for."

Alphonse opened his mouth to say more when he heard voices laughing outside of the door. He slowly turned as he waited for the long awaited reunion.

The front door opened and then the laughing stopped.

Winry froze as she saw her childhood friend standing in the middle of her living room. This should be a natural occurrence if she had not all ready seen him and his elder brother leave for another world not a couple of years earlier. Her mind was at a standstill as she tried to grasp the situation.

Was it really Alphonse? If it was then where was Edward? Who is the Ishbalan woman in the back setting the table? And why is Granny smiling bigger than usual?

All of these thoughts flew through her mind before she could even dream of moving from her spot. But she woke up when she heard that familiar gentile voice.

"Winry," Alphonse whispered as he took a step forward. He smiled at his frozen friend and she immediately melted.

"Al?" She squeaked. "Al is that really you?"

Alphonse nodded. "In the flesh," and with that a huge smile crossed his face. It was good to be able to say that.

Winry launched herself at Alphonse and held him close. "Al! Al it's really you! Oh Al where have you been? Where's Edward? Are you two staying?" Winry looked at him with a mix of hysteria and joy.

He laughed and hugged her back. "The first question will have to wait. Ed's upstairs sleeping. And yes," Al looked down into his friend's eyes and smiled, "We are definitely staying."

Winry smiled. A sudden tug on her pants made her look down at big wide eyes. The eyes shifted to Alphonse who knelt down so it was easier for the young boy.

"Uncle Alphonse?"

Alphonse smiled at the boy and nodded. "Hey Kain. You've gotten tall."

Kain giggled and hugged his beloved uncle. It had been a long time since he had seen Uncle Alphonse and if what Uncle Alphonse had said was true then he would finally be able to see his Uncle Edward.

Pinako smiled at the scene and then waited for the show's plot to thicken. Someone was about to come through that door and then things would pick up.

"Let's see how Lamya reacts to this," Pinako whispered as she saw the afore mentioned walk up next to Alphonse.

Alphonse turned as Lamya came up on his left. She smiled at Winry and held out her hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alphonse said with a blush. He looked at Winry and then gestured towards Lamya. "Winry this is Lamya. Lamya this is Winry."

Lamya shook Winry's hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you Miss Rockbell. I've heard so much about you from Edward," a strategic pause on Lamya's part in which she fondly looked at Alphonse, "and of course Alphonse."

Winry's heart stopped when Lamya paused at Edward's name but she was able to breathe again when Alphonse was brought back into the conversation. She wasn't sure whether Lamya paused on purpose or not. Maybe she was imagining things...

But what she wasn't imagining was the couple aura that surrounded Lamya and Al. 'Well this is going to be interesting.' Winry thought as someone walked through the door way.

"Al!" the woman screamed as she pounced on Alphonse.

Lamya's body unconsciously stiffened at the informal gesture towards Alphonse but she kept her smile forever in place. Winry glanced quickly at Granny and then rolled her eyes. It seems that Winry wasn't the only one who noticed the tense Ishbalan. Unlike Winry, Granny was enjoying it.

Granny chuckled at the reaction but gave Lamya credit. No one could notice the tense atmosphere around Lamya unless they were _really _looking for it. 'It seems that Lamya is quite the actress. This will definitely be interesting.'

Alphonse laughed as he hugged Rose back. "Rose! It's so good to see you!"

Rose smiled at the reaction and squeezed Alphonse tighter. She looked over his shoulder in total bliss and then noticed Lamya.

Bliss gone.

"Oh, hello there," Rose said as she let go of Alphonse and politely smiled at the new girl.

"Hello..."

"Call me Rose. And your name is?"

"Lamya Vetz," Lamya said as she smiled at Rose and shook her hand. Granny noticed that this gesture totally separated Rose from Alphonse and actually put Lamya in front of the male in question.

'Interesting.' Granny chuckled some more as she watched the transactions between the two women.

Rose nodded at Lamya and then looked down. "This is my son Kain, Kain this is Miss Vetz. Say hello to Uncle Alphonse's _friend_."

Kain smiled up at Lamya and giggled, "Hello Miss Vetz! You're- you're really pretty." Kain blushed as he shuffled his feet. "Mama are you sure that she's **just** Uncle Alphonse's friend?" He looked at his mother quizzically.

This has never crossed Rose's mind and without consent from her brain she frowned at the implication.

Winry and Pinako held back sniggers while Lamya mentally smirked. She bent down and was at eye level with Kain.

Kain looked at Lamya and she smiled, "Thank you for the compliment Kain and you can just call me Aunt Lamya. It's more fun that way, no?" Kain smiled at Lamya's friendliness and shook her outstretched hand.

"Okay Aunt Lamya!" Kain cheered as he smiled broadly.

Lamya laughed and then ruffled Kain's hair before she stood up to smile at Rose.

'Two points for Lamya,' Granny thought while she tried to hide her ever increasing smirk, 'It looks like Kain is going to be a problem for his mother. Go Lamya.'

"I've heard much about you Rose," Lamya said as she looked intently into Rose's eyes, "You have a beautiful son. Just like his mother."

Rose relaxed, which surprised her, when did she get so tight? She just swiped away those thoughts and smiled back at Lamya. "Thank you Lamya. It's nice to meet you too."

'She didn't say that it was nice to meet you. She just said that she knows of your existence. Oh Rose, you need to pay attention to Lamya's words more often otherwise you won't stand a chance,' Granny thought, shaking her head in pity. It looked like Lamya would win the battle but whether she would win the war was the question...

Lamya smiled politely at Rose but her insides were having problems. Her stomach wouldn't stop tightening and for some reason she knew that if she didn't keep her guard up around this woman that something horrible would happen. What, Lamya didn't know, but something big.

Rose immediately disliked this girl. If this girl thought that she was going to get Al then she had another thing coming. Rose had been waiting years for Alphonse to notice her feelings after Ed left but Alphonse never paid attention. He foolishly thought that she still liked Ed. Wrong. Ed was Winry's and Rose graciously accepted that but she wasn't about to give up her second hope, especially to an Ishbalan.

The polite smiles began to grow colder and colder as the women kept thinking to themselves.

Alphonse felt a little chill in the air all of a sudden and shuddered. He looked at Lamya, then Rose, and then back to Lamya. Was he imagining things or was Lamya and Rose fight-

"Well I suppose I should go and check on Edward," Lamya said casually, breaking Alphonse from his thoughts, "Winry would you come with me? Something happened dealing with his automail and-"

Winry sighed and crossed her arms in frustration. "Of course, only he would come here because his automail broke. Does that boy ever change?" Winry sighed and shook her head.

Alphonse laughed nervously. "But Winry he broke it on the way here. Automail or not he was coming here anyways."

A strange sensation ran down Winry's spine and she looked at the stairs in longing.

'Was that true? Was Ed really coming to see me? Oh, I hope he's alright.'

Realizing what was going through her mind, Lamya smiled and gestured towards the stairs. Winry nodded hesitantly. They walked up the stairs in single file while Alphonse turned to finish chopping the wood.

Rose was about to follow Alphonse when Kain complained that he had to go to the bathroom. She sighed in resignation and picked up her son in order to do her motherly duties.

Lamya was the one who opened the door first and stepped in. Winry was right behind her until the door way. There she stopped to look at the sleeping form of Edward Elric.

The Edward Elric who has been on her mind for the past few years. The Edward Elric that always broke the automail that she made for him. The Edward Elric for whom she alone made automail for. The Edward Elric that had stolen her heart and was now silently sleeping in her house without a care in the world.

Winry was frozen to the spot until Lamya beckoned her. "Winry does this look all right to you?"

Instantly she snapped out of her daze and slowly walked over to the sleeping form. She bent down to better examine the automail ports when suddenly Ed breathed.

The scent of his body and breath sent Winry's mind whirling. How long had she been tortured by only being able to smell his shirts that he left behind? Not that she was obsessive or anything but whenever she felt sentimental she would always come into this room and take a whiff of the only thing that connected her with Edward again. His scent was just so soothing that she almost fell into him.

But Winry caught herself and scowled. This was not the time to be ditzy. Right now Edward needed her and so she carefully examined his automail ports and found the problem.

"It's too old," Winry stated as she stood up. Her heart aching as she released herself from his aroma.

Lamya looked at Winry puzzled at first and then nodded in understanding. "So what happens now?"

Winry sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Well, he'll have to get a thorough check-up when he wakes up and then we'll take it from there."

"I see," Lamya muttered as she gazed out of the window. Winry stared at Lamya or rather her crimson irises that seemed to hold all of the secrets of life.

Whenever Winry looked into Lamya's eyes she felt like telling her her life story. There was just something about Lamya that made Winry relax. And whatever was bothering Lamya, well, Winry just had to help. Winry could see that they were about to be fast friends.

"Lamya..." Winry said as Lamya turned, "I think..." Winry stopped and looked into Lamya's piercing scarlet eyes. This gave her enough courage to continue. "Was I mentioned a lot by Ed? And Al!" Winry hurriedly added Alphonse to the end.

A gentle smile came to Lamya lips as she nodded. "Yes, they told me everything about you and your adventures together. But Edward was always more animate when it came to you. You and he must have been really close."

Winry looked at the ground in shame and shook her head. "Not as close as I would want..." She mumbled to herself.

Lamya looked softly at Winry and her smile grew.

"Hmm... Edward seems to think the same way," she said while walking out of the room with a little smirk.

Winry's head snapped up at the comment. She stared with her mouth wide open at Lamya.

"Well, are you coming? I made a roast for dinner tonight." And with that Lamya swiftly turned around to walk back down stairs.

'Did she just play me?' Winry thought as she slowly followed Lamya and then she smiled, 'I think I like this girl all ready.'

"Oh Alphonse! I was supposed to do that!" Lamya cried as she rushed over to steal the last serving plate from his hands.

But he was too fast and lifted the plate above his head which resulted in her tripping into him. He smiled down at the blushing Lamya and said, "I suppose you were but I think that I can handle it."

Lamya nodded and backed away to go around him. When their arms brushed each other her blush deepened.

Standing in the doorway was Winry and Granny Pinako. They were enjoying the show. Winry looked down to see a smirking Granny and then looked up to see a somewhat scowling Rose.

'Not good,' Winry sighed.

In the mean time Kain ran out from behind his mother and up to Lamya.

"Aunt Lamya why are your cheeks red?" Kain asked while gripping her dress with one hand and sucking on his thumb with the other.

He looked like such an adorable angel that all Lamya could do was smile and pat his head. "It's just the heat of the kitchen Honey. Now would you like to help Uncle Alphonse set the table?"

Being a child he was easily distracted. "Okay!"

Lamya smiled and went back to checking the food.

"I'll help too then," Rose said and immediately grabbed the plate away from Alphonse. She smiled sweetly at him and gently said, "You must be tired from your journey. Maybe you should rest instead of doing chores, this might be too stressful for you."

Lamya stiffened. She'd never thought about that. If Alphonse was tired then he would have told her... Right? Panic began to rise as Lamya looked desperately down at the sauce she was stirring.

Alphonse smiled politely, "Thanks Rose but I'm fine. The person who should be resting is Lamya not me."

A shocked expression appeared on Rose's face but she could not answer him and instead she just nodded.

Alphonse continued with a smile, "In fact... Lamya why don't you rest and talk with Granny while Rose and I take over here?"

Granny frowned at the suggestion. 'Dang it. Why not let them duke it out?'

Lamya smiled very nicely at Alphonse and a light blush graced his cheeks. "Thank you for being so thoughtful Alphonse but you're too late. Dinner is ready." She then tried to pick up the pot in front of her but Alphonse quickly came to her side.

"Efficient as ever. Well, at least let me carry this for you," Alphonse offered as he took the heavy pan to the table.

Lamya smiled and then turned to Rose. "Would you help me with this Rose? I would appreciate it after such a tiring day."

Swiftly and vehemently Rose snatched the pot away from Lamya but she took the sauce pot too quickly and some spilled on Lamya.

A gasp escaped Lamya's lips as she closed her eyes at the intense pain on her forearm. Everyone took a step towards Lamya but it was Alphonse who went to her side.

He quickly looked around for a towel but when he couldn't find one he did the only thing that he could think of.

All of the women in the room gasped.

Lamya's eyes shot open when she felt Alphonse's lips on her skin. He licked off the sauce as best as he could manage while Lamya stood there in utter shock and... delight? Was she happy that his lips were touching her bare skin? No blush formed on her face though, no, Lamya was too shocked to even breathe so she stood there like a statue.

But there was something going on, because for some reason unknown to Lamya she wanted to taste his lips. To see if the sauce was good! That was it! She just wanted to try the sauce... Right?

When Alphonse was finished he looked up at Lamya and asked, "Are you all right Lamya? Do you need some ice?" Alphonse's heart was beating faster than humanly possible. 'Did I just lick Lamya? Oh, no. Please, please don't be angry. I-I don't know what took over me...'

When Lamya didn't respond he began to panic. 'Why is she just staring at me? Please Lamya, please speak!'

"Lamya? Do you need ice?" Alphonse repeated in vain. Lamya couldn't hear him over the pounding of her heart.

'No but she might need something for her heart,' Granny thought as she walked towards the ice box. She handed Alphonse an ice pack and then turned to Rose.

"You better put that on the table deary. We don't have any more ice for accidents."

Rose began with a start and stared down at the elder woman. She was still too shocked by Al's reaction to Lamya's burn to really pay attention to anything else. Rose mumbled her thanks and did what she was told.

Meanwhile Lamya tried to breathe with Alphonse playing nurse.

"Are you sure that you're alright Lamya? Doesn't it hurt?" Alphonse asked as he helped her to the table to sit down. 'Please say something Lamya, please...'

Lamya nodded weakly and then tried to smile normally up at Alphonse. The thing was that she couldn't make eye contact with him so she stared at his forehead. "It's all right Alphonse. I'm fine I just-"

"I'm so sorry Lamya! It's all my fault. Are you feeling alright?" Rose asked as she grasped onto Alphonse's arm to look at Lamya. Alphonse stiffened at the contact and for some reason looked at Lamya with pleading eyes. Why did he feel repulsed by Rose's touch all of the sudden? What was going on?

Lamya looked down at her plate and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine but I- I think I shall go check to see if Edward is awake. Don't want him to starve no?" With the speed of a cheetah Lamya lept up from her seat and dashed towards the stairs leaving a smug Rose and a distraught Alphonse.

When she finally reached Edward's room she slammed the door shut and slid down the door. She sighed and leaned her head against her knees.

"What was that?" Lamya whispered as her heart ceased ramming itself against her chest. What was happening? Why was she so tense whenever Rose touched Alphonse? What was this feeling bubbling inside of her?

Lamya sighed again and ran her hands through her hair. What was she to do?

A noise could be heard from across the room as a sleeping form finally opened his eyes. He turned to see a form curled up next to his door.

"Lamya?"

* * *

Yay! Chapter!! Tell me if it sucked or not... I can't tell fully with this one. So if you care to share an opinion about Rose please go ahead. Should she get Alphonse? Or will Lamya beat her to the punch? Rose has more 'experience' in that area so she might win. Will this tear Alphonse's and Lamya's relationship apart?

Don't know. You guys can put in your opinion, it might change the whole story. : Evil smirk :

I would like to thank my beta readers MangoSorbet (who just got back from Cuba and had a wonderful time!) and dantecell (who stayed mainly in the house this summer!)!

BONUS TIME!!

Alphonse: "Wow. That was an interesting chapter! It was so nice seeing everyone again. Isn't that right Lamya?"

Lamya: "Yes it was quite interesting. They are such lovely people."

Rose: "It was nice seeing you again too Al."

Lamya: "..."

Rose: "But I still don't understand." Looks at Lamya with fake innocence. "Why are you so formal with Al? Are you not that close?"

Lamya: "I feel that Edward and Alphonse have been through so much that they deserve some respect and the least that I can do is call them by their full names."

Rose: "..."

Lamya grabs Alphonse's arm and leans her head against his shoulder.

Lamya smiles sweetly at Rose.

Lamya: "Plus it doesn't matter what I call him as long as he's mine."

Rose's and Al's mouths drop open in shock and delight (in Alphonse's case).

Lamya just smiles some more.

Lamya: "Well, it was nice seeing you Rose. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

And with that Lamya walks away with Alphonse. As an extra stab she snuggles with him the whole way.

* * *

Kinda sucks doesn't it Rose?

Please enjoy and see you soon!!


	19. Chapter 19

Hi!!

So I was REALLY excited about the new addition of Rose and Kain that I started this chapter right away. It's probably going to be a little long and I apologize... Maybe... Actually my readers might like the long chapter but my beta readers won't. So ok!

On with the show!

Disclaimer: The rights to FMA flew in front of Atemu'sLotus but when she reached out to grab them she felt only glass. Supposedly you can't open a window on a plane. Psh.

* * *

"Edward," Lamya whispered, "I don't understand anything anymore." And with that her head dropped in her hands.

Silence came from the other side of the room, that and confusion.

'What the hell happened while I was asleep?' Ed thought as he stared at the fragile girl before him.

Ed took a deep breath and concentrated on all of those years of public relations before he went to console a now distraught Lamya. When he was finally ready to have a heart-to-heart (cue a shudder from Ed, men are SO predicable) he realized that he had lost two of his appendages. He sighed.

"Lamya?"

The girl looked up at the mention of her name and a small smile graced Ed's lips. She really was like a little sister to him. Lamya had done everything in her power to help him and Al in the past and now was the time to return the favor.

"Lamya get over here," Ed said while trying to sit up. He cringed at his rough voice. He was trying to sound soft so he could better help her open up but, he utterly failed.

Nevertheless, Lamya followed his orders. She hesitantly stood up and walked over to Ed to help him sit up, as she presumed. When she helped him up, Ed wearily patted the space next to him, hoping to all of the nonexistent gods that she would understand this gesture. Naturally she did and she sat down but, she didn't look at Edward and instead looked at her hands in shame.

"So what's this about not understanding anything anymore?" Ed asked.

Lamya immediately curled up into a ball and leaned her head against her knees. This worried Ed. He had never seen her this helpless since the martyr incident in her little hell hole. Ed needed to find out what was wrong and fast so he took what he thought was the safest light-hearted approach.

"Did Al lick you again?" Ed nervously teased. He was trying to lighten the mood with an old memory but he didn't expect Lamya's response.

Her head shot up and she stared at him with wide eyes as if he had just said the most shocking thing in the entire world.

Edward froze. Blinked. And then something in his head clicked.

"Holy shit."

That seemed to shake Lamya from her current depression.

"Edward! Watch your mouth!" She scolded as he just stared at her wide eyed.

He didn't pay attention to her outburst but instead kept going with his mouth.

"He **licked** you? La-La what happened?" Ed said while grabbing one of her hands.

The use of her nickname made Lamya snap and spill her guts to Edward. He listened intently while putting in the proper nods and 'mhmm's. All of those years of public relations really paid off.

Finally when she was finished Lamya looked into Edward's gold eyes and pleaded, "I don't understand what's happening Edward. Why do I feel so tense around Rose? And why does it bother me that she can touch him and he doesn't even complain? What's going on?"

"Um..." Ed needed time to think but he couldn't when Lamya kept looking at him like a sad puppy in the rain.

Too bad Edward was not allowed to finish his hesitant thought.

"Hey Lamya, are you alri-"

The two occupants in the room looked to see Winry freeze in the door way with her hand still on the door knob.

Winry had come up after eating dinner and then waited for Lamya to return from Ed's room. She was worried that something had happened to Lamya especially since she left in such a rush. She had been expecting Lamya to be sitting somewhere in the room or to be standing near the window but she had not been expecting this.

When she came into the room she saw Lamya sitting on the bed beside Ed who was awake and holding her hand. This made Winry's heart stop.

But when Lamya looked into Winry's eyes her heart suddenly jumped back to life. For some odd reason Winry could tell that Lamya meant no harm. She could sense that Lamya had only come to Ed for help and a shoulder to cry on. In fact the girl looked like she was about to break down right there if no one did anything.

Acting on instinct Winry flew across the room and embraced Lamya. The shock only lasted a half a second and then Lamya melted in Winry's arms and wept. Again acting on instinct Winry began to stroke Lamya's ivory hair and kept whispering that it would be all right, that there was nothing to be worried about because it would all come out okay.

Ed was in shock.

'Winry. Winry's here. She's right in front of me. The most beautiful woman in the world is right in front of me. The person that I missed the most while I was on the other side of The Gate is right here in front of me.' Ed blinked and then assessed the situation. 'Damn I wish was Lamya right now...'

After a while, the girls parted and Lamya said her thanks. Winry nodded and then stood up only to realize, again, that Ed was awake. In a flash she was back on the bed but this time hugging Ed.

"Ed! You're awake!" Winry exclaimed and then she let go of Ed to look him in the eyes, "What happened? Did my automail fail you? Are you okay?"

Ed didn't answer for a moment. Instead he just soaked in Winry's image. Her perfect face, deep blue eyes, soft blonde hair, and her warm hands against his cool skin. Ed sighed contently as the hole in his heart was filled with happiness. He smiled at the worried Winry and then hugged her close to his chest.

"Yeah, I'm feelin' fine," Ed whispered in Winry's ear.

Lamya smiled at the couple and subtly removed herself from the room. She smiled at the closed door and then turned around to walk down the stairs. As she was walking down the hallway she could see Rose reading Kain a bedtime story and Granny rocking back and forth in her rocking chair. The two grown-ups watched with loving eyes as the little angel slowly drifted in and out.

Again Lamya smiled and then went downstairs. She noticed that the table in the kitchen was still set for two since she and Edward didn't have dinner. So Lamya sighed and walked over to fill her plate and eat what little food she wanted. When she entered she noticed that a plate had been set aside on the counter. It was filled with food and it was on a bed tray...

'But if that's for Edward then why are there two plates on the table?' Lamya wondered as she went to inspect the table and its contents.

"Lamya?"

She turned around to see Alphonse standing by the back door. Lamya looked into his eyes for a couple of seconds and then looked down at the table. Although they only made eye contact for a couple of seconds Alphonse still noticed Lamya's red eyes.

"Lamya? Lamya have you been crying?" Alphonse asked as he walked over to her.

She ignored his question and gestured towards the plates. "Why are there only two plates? Didn't everyone eat?"

"Everyone ate while you were gone b-but..." Alphonse was now trying to make eye contact with Lamya but she was being stubborn. Alphonse gently but firmly grabbed her chin and turned her head so they were staring at each other.

Lamya blushed but she couldn't look away. Alphonse's eyes had always mesmerized her and now more than ever.

A sigh escaped from Alphonse's lips before he continued.

"I need to apologize for earlier, so please look at me."

Lamya nodded and Alphonse, reluctantly, let go of her. She motioned for him to continue and he smiled. They both sat down without breaking eye contact. Again Alphonse smiled but this time apologetically.

"Please forgive me Lamya. What I did today was very inappropriate and I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable. Please forgive me and I hope that you'll eat dinner with me?" Alphonse asked. He had been going real strong until the end. He just wanted her to forgive him, that was it. He didn't want their relationship to end, not now, not ever. With every passing second that Lamya didn't answer him Alphonse grew more and more tense.

Eventually Lamya smiled and nodded.

"Okay, I'll eat dinner with you," Lamya said cheerily.

Alphonse smiled, "So I'm forgiven?"

"Only if the food is good."

They both laughed as they went to eat their long awaited dinner. Little did they know that someone was watching them in the shadows.

--

'Three days. We have been here three days and it has been raining for the past two. It stopped raining last night and now everyone wants to eat breakfast? They want to eat while the sun is out and the grass is warm?? Ugh!'

These thoughts and others like them floated through Lamya's mind as she stared out the window longingly. She sighed and flipped the bacon on the stove and gazed out the window once more.

Alphonse chuckled and whispered into Lamya's ear, "Just wait a little longer Lamya. Think of it like this, the longer we eat the warmer the grass will be."

She blushed and nodded. "Fine I'll wait but promise me that we'll eat fast."

Ed and Winry laughed at Lamya's impatience. The two were sitting at the breakfast table while Winry was working on Ed's automail arm. When breakfast was over they would then move outside and work on his leg. Even Winry couldn't miss the opportunity to work in the sunlight.

"I promise!" Ed cheered before Winry smacked him over the head with her wrench.

"I don't think so," Winry said while glaring at Ed, "I'm going to finish working on your arm during breakfast so don't. Rush. Me."

Ed sighed dramatically. "Yes dear."

Everyone chuckled and went back to what they were doing but Winry was the only one who continued with a blush on her cheeks.

It took a while for everyone to eat their breakfast but when they finished Lamya and Alphonse were the first ones out the door. Granny walked out into the sun and sat down in her usual chair as she watched Winry help Ed down to the stream behind the house. Kain ran out after Lamya but was stopped by his mother as she wanted to wipe something off his face.

Lamya laughed and twirled across the lawn in her bare feet. The new sensation on her feet baffled her. She had never felt something so smooth, so delicate yet so strong, and so wet! It was amazing.

"Alphonse come feel the grass it's so amazing!"

The joy on Lamya's face when she called Alphonse's name made his heart skip a beat. He smiled and ran after her. When he reached Lamya he bowed and held out his hand for a dance. Laughing, Lamya curtsied and accepted his hand.

Together they flew across the grass. They danced in time to a song that Lamya began to sing in Ishbalan.

Granny smiled at the melody while Kain tried to sing along.

Lamya laughed as Alphonse hugged her and twirled her in the air.

"Ahaha! Put me down Alphonse I want to feel the grass under my feet again!"

Alphonse smiled as he brought her down. Lamya blushed as their bodies brushed against each other. Smiling, Alphonse hugged Lamya close to his chest and whispered in her ear.

"So, now that your dream has been fulfilled what do you want to do next?"

The blush on Lamya's cheeks deepened as she whispered in his ear, "My dream's not completely fulfilled yet."

But before Alphonse could inquire a little voice pipped up.

"Aunt Lamya! Aunt Lamya teach me how to sing too!!"

Lamya gladly agreed and began to teach Kain Ishbalan while Alphonse was trying to figure out what Lamya meant about not having her dream truly fulfilled.

Rose, in the mean time was analyzing the situation. There was something brewing in her mind and all she needed was the perfect opportunity. Rose had almost shouted with joy when Lamya freaked out three days ago. This meant that the bond between the Ishbalan and her Al wasn't very strong.

And now to break it.

Lamya finished singing as Alphonse twirled her back to where Granny was. They smiled and began to chat while Lamya sat down in the grass and soaked up the sun.

"Al?" Rose asked as she walked up to the group. They all turned to her and smiled, even Lamya. Nothing could ruin her good mood. But Rose was about to test that. She slowly came next to him and then looked over at Ed and Winry.

"Have those two even kissed yet?"

Al laughed and shook his head. "Those two? They probably haven't even confessed their love to each other yet. It's kinda sad really..."

A wistful look crossed Al's face as he remembered his mistake with Lamia. He shook the sad thoughts out of his and looked down. There Lamya sat contently as she hummed a silly tune in her head. Their eyes met and Alphonse smiled warmly at her. Well, it wasn't that bad of a mistake since it led him to Lamya.

Winry whisked past them and into the house to get a tool she forgot.

'Here's my chance,' Rose smiled.

"Al, go talk to your brother! Quick while Winry's in the house!" Rose said as she pushed Al towards a relaxed Ed.

Much to Rose's chagrin, Lamya didn't seem to mind the close contact. It's not that Lamya didn't mind it so much just that she was way too happy to really get upset. Although it did help when Alphonse looked to her for a go-to before he went to chat with Edward.

"Go on Alphonse. Everyone deserves a happy ending, even clueless Edward," Lamya giggle as Kain launched himself into her lap.

Alphonse chuckled and went to Ed. When he walked up, Ed glanced up expecting Winry but was just as happy to see his younger brother.

"Hey Al, how's it been going with Lamya?"

"Pretty good. I think that I'll get a good chance to finally tell her how I feel after dinner tonight. And that leads me to you..." Al said as he brought back his gaze from Lamya's laughing form to a quizzical Ed. "Are you really going to let me beat you in another area?"

Ed glared at Al as he turned to fully face his little brother. It didn't have that much of an effect though since he was sitting on the ground with only one leg while Alphonse towered over him.

"Excuse me?"

Alphonse backed up with his hands in the air. "All I'm saying is that I'll beat you to the punch again. I wonder how Winry will feel when Lamya describes her first kiss to her."

Ed stopped breathing as he looked up at a smirking Al. Poor Ed had no time to think though as Al walked walked away saying, "Please be happy brother. Just, don't wait like I did... But I think that you know better than I do at how long the wait felt. Here's your chance to actually beat me at something brother. "

"Beat him at what Al?"

"Winry!" Ed screeched as he saw Al smirk and turn around to face the puzzled girl.

"Hey Winry, see ya later. Remember what we talked about brother," Al said as he walked back and sat down next to Lamya.

Winry just shrugged and went back to work on Ed's leg. She didn't notice the sweat that was building on his forehead until she looked up to tell him to hand her a nut and bolt.

Alarmed at his current state Winry went to wipe away the sweat when Ed suddenly grabbed her hand.

"I-I have something to tell you Win," Ed stuttered as his stare intensified as Winry kept eye contact.

Numbed by Ed's eyes, Winry just nodded.

"When I was on the other side of The Gate I missed a lot of things, a lot of people. But... But there was one person that I missed the most."

Winry's eyes widened at every word that came out of Ed's mouth. 'Is he really saying what I think he's saying? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh...'

Ed scooched closer to Winry and gently touched her cheek with his human hand.

"Winry, I missed you. I missed you a lot and I hope-" Ed took a deep breath, "I hope that you feel the same way." And with that he kissed Winry on the cheek.

The silence lasted for only a few seconds until Winry smiled and grabbed Ed's face in between her hands.

"I love you too you idiot," Winry said before she kissed Ed on the lips.

At first Ed's eyes almost popped out of his head and then his eyes slowly closed as he deepened the kiss.

Their first kiss might have lasted longer if not for the loud cheer in the background. The two lovers couldn't stop laughing as they parted and then leaned on each other's foreheads.

Rose clapped as Al and Granny whistled; Lamya laughed and clapped her hands with Kain sitting in her lap, laughing.

Now was her chance.

"Good job Al!" Rose yelled before she jumped on him and lightly...

And lightly kissed his lips.

Freeze.

* * *

SAY WHAT??

**BONUS**

"SAY WHAT??"

** Technical Difficulties: Due to the mass murder of Atemu'sLotus there will be no BONUS this chapter. **

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! SOMEONE HELP ME!! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME!!"

"GET BACK HERE! DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM US!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"YOU CHANGE THE ENDING RIGHT NOW AND WE WON'T KILL YOU!"

...

"ARE YOU GOING TO CHANGE IT?"

"No..."

"DIE!!"

"AAAAAHHHH!!"

** Technical Difficulties: Due to the mass murder of Atemu'sLotus there will be no BONUS this chapter. **

* * *

I just want you all to know that if you kill me then I can't finish the story.

JUST SO YOU KNOW.

Please enjoy...

See ya!


	20. Chapter 20

HI!

So I was looking for something to read and I got frustrated so I said, "You know what? I'm writing something! ANYTHING TO READ!!!"

And so here we are. :D

Oh! I'm trying a new type of writing style! Please tell me how you like it! It'll probably only be for this chapter though... -.-' Unless you like it!

Ok, so here is how it will go. There are probably going to be two or three point of views, it will be obvious who the person is so don't worry about it. BUT if you still cannot figure out who is talking then I'll list it at the end of the chapter! How's that? :D

On with the show!!

Disclaimer: Ok... So how many of you ACTUALLY read my disclaimers? Or should I say, how many of you actually ENJOY my disclaimers? Hmmm... Just putting that out there. So... I don't own FMA.

* * *

'Can heaven be described as this? So elated? So free?'

I smile at the thought while leaning into the person next to me. Currently we are all on the train going back to Central. Ed and Al received a note and a phone call from the President to come back to Central as soon as possible.

They were trying to sneak out this morning without us noticing but we caught them. Granny and I were standing by the door when they came down the stairs. I got some time to get Lamya downstairs when I hit Ed over the head with my wrench.

Lamya's been sulking lately but when Rose said that she couldn't go to Central without preparing Kain first I saw Lamya's eyes brighten a little. After that kiss between Al and Rose, Lamya has been depressed.

I've been meaning to talk to her about it but, Ed just confessed to me! It's selfish of me but Ed took up most of my time this trip. He messed up his automail pretty badly and I had to fix it up for the first few days. Then, he wanted to go out with me every chance he got.

He told me of his adventures one night. Ed just told me over and over again how much he regretted not telling me his feelings. He said that he wouldn't make the same mistake again. Then he looked at me in the eyes and said, "I will always cherish and love you, Winry Rockbell. Please stay by this old fool's side." I cried and he held me so tenderly. How could I refuse?

Sigh...

Poor Ed... He was so lonely...

And Al! They both were so lonely. They had it worse than me but they are back and I couldn't be happier.

I smile up at Ed. He sees me out of the corner of his eye and smiles down at me.

"What's got you in such a good mood Win?" he asks in his deep husky voice.

I nearly sigh in satisfaction but I hold it back and snuggle deeper into his arm. "Not much, just an alchemic geek."

Ed laughs and relaxes his body more. I giggle and then stop when I see Lamya sitting across from me.

She is the only one that didn't get up this morning. Lamya is the only one who hasn't talked about the trip or anything. Lamya hasn't spoken since the kiss. Her eyes, her beautiful crimson eyes that have always been so captivating, now, hold nothing. She looks like she died inside.

Whenever Lamya fakes a smile I can see Al's face grimace. I know that Al wants to explain the kiss to Lamya but so far...

Lamya won't understand unless Al does something. Communication is key.

'Heh, look at me. Just got confessed to after how many years and now I'm a love guru? Sigh...' I think and lean my head back. My hand holds Ed's as I look up at the ceiling of the car.

I really want to help Al and Lamya. They are perfect for each other but how do I help without being too nosy? Ugh!! Were Ed and I this frustrating????

The look in Lamya's eyes or rather, the lack of it, inspires me to strike up a conversation.

"Lamya?" I ask the lifeless figure sitting in front of me.

Ed tenses up and Al suddenly freezes in his spot. I can tell that they are waiting for a verbal response but we don't get one. Lamya just blinks. I take it and run with it.

"What do you want to do when we get to Central? There are so many shops there and Ed's treating us!" I exclaim hoping to get a request.

Before Lamya can even think to respond, Ed butts in.

"Al and I have to immediately go see the President when we get there so shopping will have to wait," Ed says in an apologetic voice.

I smile weakly and turn back to Lamya. "Well, we can still go window shopping. Right?"

Lamya just nods and looks down at her lap. Al sighs beside her and she jumps in her seat. I can see Al's eyes narrow and the usual caramel grow darker. The depression that rolls off of him is enormous.

The chat does nothing. I gain nothing. Lamya barely responded and Al scared her half to death with a damn sigh. Ugh.... What the hell am I supposed to do??

"I'm thirsty," I say while letting go of Ed. This situation is getting to be too much. Is the whole world filled with these types of couples??

Ed nods, seeing my expression. He should know that I'm only trying to help. He grabs my hand as I walk away.

"Can you get two of whatever you're getting?" he asks with a sweet smile.

Yep. He knows. Can I be any luckier? What a great boyfriend. I smile and go to the food car.

When I enter the car I see it's pretty full. The car looks like any other except instead of booths there are tables. Nothing too fancy. So I walk to an empty table and wait for a server. A young lady comes over and takes my order. After that I look out at the scenery.

Grass is everywhere and that just depresses me more. If Lamya had been her usual self then she would be holding onto Al's arm and pointing excitingly at the grass. I remember hearing about her past and I cringe on the inside. To be trapped for so long, it is amazing that Lamya is so cheerful. Well...not now, but that is not the point.

Lately though... Her sleeping patterns have me worried. I look down at the table and cup my hands in my lap.

Lamya's been having really weird dreams and for some reason her left arm keeps contracting and convulsing. I think that she is sick but I don't know how to approach her, she just won't talk. I sigh and look up to see a man sitting across from me.

I jump in my seat and he smiles.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you. I was just wondering, are your traveling companions the infamous Elric brothers?" At the last part he leans across the table and whispers it.

Something inside of me tells me not to tell him but I can't stop myself. Who is this man?

"And your name is?" I ask while trying to keep his gaze. I've been up against stronger men than he, I can take his stare. Yet something tells me to run, to forget the drinks and warn Ed and Al but... Warn them about what?

The man chuckles. "Such a temper, Ms. Rockbell, will get you killed someday," His eyes sparkle at the thought a shiver goes down my spine. Who is this guy??

"But that is besides the point. Please inform Mr. Elric of my gratitude. If he hadn't come back to Central then..." He pauses and grins evilly at me, "Then I don't know what I would have done."

I froze. "Are- Are you one of President Mustang's men?" I ask because if he is then President Mustang will get an earful. This joke is NOT funny.

Mr. Creepy smiles at me and then kisses my hand. "Good day Ms. Rockbell," He says before leaving the cabin.

I can't move for a second and then all of my senses come back to me and hit me like a wrench. I stand up, forgetting about the water, and run back to our car. I have to warn Ed, I just have to.

When I slam the door closed to our car, everyone looks at me in surprise. I quickly run over to Ed and grab his arm. "Ed there was this man. I don't know who he was but he creeped me out. He threatened me and I think that he is after you. He wouldn't stop talking about you," I say in one breath.

Ed's eyes widen and then he nods. "Are you alright?" He asks as he grabs my arms and pulls me down next to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just rattled."

"Ok, now tell us exactly what happened," Ed says as Al leans in. I can see Lamya looking at me with concern out of the corner of my eye. Her caring gaze calms me down and I relay everything that happened in the dinning car. Ed, Al, and Lamya stiffen when I describe the man and my curiosity got the better of me. Next time I get Lamya alone she is going to tell me what is going on. All three of them know something, I can just feel it.

"You guys stay here while Al and I go check the train for Mr. Creepy. Can you take care of Winry for me La-La?" Ed says as he and Al walk out of the car.

Lamya nods and sits down next to me. She gently grasps my arm which makes me feel better but it makes me wonder. What can Lamya do that I can't? Is that man really that dangerous?

Suddenly Lamya speaks in a whisper, "Don't worry Winry. Edward and Alphonse will be alright. I'll tell you everything when we go shopping."

I sigh. Only Lamya would know exactly what to say. As I thank G-d for Lamya and her soothing presence, the door to the car opens.

In steps Mr. Creepy.

Everything is a blur as I feel Lamya push me against the seat and stand in front of me. I can see Mr. Creepy's eyes twinkle at the sight and he laughs.

"My dear sacrifice, there is no need to be hasty. I'm not here to pick a fight," Mr. Creepy says as he slowly walks towards us with his arms wide open. It is like he is about to hug Lamya but judging by her stance she plans to kill him before he even touches her. "I'm just here to check up on the Mr. Elrics and my dear sacrifice. How are you coming along?"

In a flash Mr. Creepy grabs Lamya's left arm but she slams her right hand against the side of his neck. The instant he makes contact with her left arm she screams out in pain and her eyes begin to glow red. I watch in horror as she falls to the ground in agony. I look up to see the biggest smile I have ever seen on Mr. Creepy's face.

"Excellent reaction," he sings as blood pooled out of his mouth. The lashing that Lamya gave him is beginning to form a bruise.

"What the hell did you do??" I scream as I kneel on the ground and grab Lamya's shoulders. She is holding her left arm which is pulsating more so than usual. Groans of agony escape from her mouth as she bends her head towards her chest.

When I look back up Mr. Creepy is gone. I begin to panic. Has he done anything Ed and Al? What is happening to Lamya? What is going on?

"Lamya? Lamya what happened? Lamya? What's going on? What am I supposed to do??" I beg as I lean my head on her back. I can't think straight. I just want Lamya's labored breaths to stop. Please...

BANG!

I look up with tears in my eyes and see Ed and Al standing in the doorway.

"Ed..." I cry, "Please, do something..."

For the second time that day everything flashes through my eyes. Al is the first to respond as he kneels down in front of Lamya and gently grabs her shoulders. Ed grabs me and lifts me up with his strong arms. He hugs me close to his chest and begins to stroke my hair while saying soothing words in my ear. After a few seconds I push away from Ed and look down at Lamya.

"Lamya? Lamya please look at me," Alphonse begs as he squeezes Lamya's shoulders. She doesn't lift her head and I step towards her while remaining in Ed's arms. Now Lamya looks up at Alphonse and then collapses. He catches her and holds her close. He checks her pulse while holding onto her and sighs a breath of relief.

Alphonse brings her closer and buries his face in her ivory hair, "Lamya, Lamya what happened?"

* * *

I just went out for a smoke. Of course something happens when I'm gone, luckily the officer with me was prepared for such a situation. Which makes me wonder about him.

Lately there have been more and more troops that have his background: None. No one knows where he comes from or anything. It makes me weary but if Mustang trusts him, so do I―to an extent.

Those kids are being targeted again. I wonder if they'll ever get a break. So back to what happened. Apparently Lamya was attacked on the train and she fainted from pain. Whoever that bastard is, he's going to pay. Lamya's a good kid, sweet and an excellent cook. No one hurts her and gets away with it in my book.

A chill goes up and down my spine as Alphonse glares at me while Ed explains the situation to me. Well, he isn't glaring at me, he is staring at me but he has a murderous aura around him. For a split second I feel sympathy for the bastard on the train but it vanishes when I see Lamya's limp form in Alphonse's arms. I had hoped that I would never have to see her like that again but here she is, unconscious. At least this time she isn't almost bleeding to death.

I am extremely worried about the kid but then Sciezska pops back into my mind. While I was on break I called her at the office but there was no answer. Usually she is in the office at this time. Maybe she took an early break but either way it makes me worry. That woman gets herself into the strangest situations.

We all pile into the little car. Ed has Winry sit between him and Al. Lamya has the privilege to sit on Al's lap. Too bad she isn't awake, I'm sure she would have enjoyed it. Under different circumstances Alphonse would have a beet red face.

Now the kid is very protective of Lamya. He won't let go of her for anything. If only they would make up...

Yeah, I heard from Sciezska, who was told by Winry, that those two are having problems but now... I look into the driver's mirror, back at the young couple and I wonder if they really are in a fight. They look so peaceful in each other's arms. Damn, those two are like Mustang and Riza, stupid couples are so annoying.

Of course it's ironic that I say that but now I have a girl. I have Sciezska, the best girl in the world for me. So maybe I do have a right to tell people what to do in relationships.

When we arrive at the hotel, Riza is standing outside. 'Not good,' I think as I get out of the passenger's side.

I tell the kids to stay in the car while I talk to Riza and then I head over to the beautiful blond. "What's happening now Riza?" I ask while stuffing my hands in my pockets. This day is really too much. Maybe seeing Sciezska will calm me down but since she isn't answering the phone....

"It's been decided that the girls will stay with me while the boys stay with you," Riza says as she crosses her arms in front of her chest.

I sigh. "Damn it. Can't those two stay out of trouble for once?" I ask while rubbing my temples. I REALLY need to see Sciezska.

Riza smiles and shakes her head. "Apparently not. I'll take the girls from here. Get the brothers to Mustang as soon as possible."

I nod and walk back to the car to order people around. They all obey, although I have a hard time with Alphonse. Eventually we all get to where we are supposed to be. I drop off the boys at Mustang's and then walk towards Sciezska's office.

For some odd reason I feel like I am about to walk in on something. So I slowly knock on her door.

"Hey, Sciezska? Are you there Babe?" I call through the door. I feel a breeze coming from the cracks of the door and I go on alert. Sciezska never has the windows open, it blows her papers around. So why...

I open the door only to drop the current cigarette in my mouth. Her room is completely trashed. I panic.

"SCIEZSKA???" I yell as I run into the room and check for her everywhere. Nothing! There is nothing!

I throw papers in the air and shuffle through her closet. NOTHING!!

I check the windows, which ARE open but find nothing but.... blood. I can't take it. Sciezska is gone. It is obvious that someone has taken her away, there are signs of struggle everywhere. My Baby fought, I feel proud and freaked out at the same time. So I do the only thing I can think of.

I began to run.

I ran and ran fast.

"-fine then. As long as she is okay then it is fine."

"Do you think that it would really affect her President?"

"Yes. Kidnappings of these kinds have been happening a lot rece-"

"PRESIDENT!" I yell as I burst into the office.

All three of them look up at me. I guess it is rude of me to interrupt but- but....

"SCIEZSKA'S GONE!"

* * *

Things seem to be heating up. Ahm....

So it was Winry's POV and then it switched to Havoc.

Thank for reading!!

BONUS

MangoSorbet: You do realize that this update is WAY over due.

Atemu'sLotus: Ehehehe.... -.-'

Dantecell: Whatev. My work is done. Can I go home now?

MangoSorbet: Can I beat her up?

Dantecell: *Shrugs* Sure.

Atemu'sLotus: WAH??

Dantecell: Hey! YOU didn't make Lamya a daywalker! You brought this upon yourself.

Atemu'sLotus: NO!!!!!!!!!!

* * *

See? I WAS punished for my tardiness...

Sniff....

Please enjoy!

See ya later!


	21. Chapter 21

Konbanwa! (Good Evening)

How are all of you?

I got bit by "Please write some more" bug. :) My goal is to finish this story by New Year's. Only eight more chapters to go and my beloved fic is at an end.... Sniff...

ANYWAYS!! On with the show!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was celebrating MangoSorbet's birthday when the rights to FMA galloped across the lawn. Atemu'sLotus tried to dive towards the rights but then she froze. MangoSorbet's cold stare paralyzed her. Dammit MangoSorbet, I was trying to get those rights! NOT DITCH YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY!

* * *

"Stop. Don't do this," the man pleads as he is dragged to the center of a circle. A circle among many in fact, a circle in an intricate pattern. Then men dragging him dump him and walk back to the outer edge of the circle to get the other sacrifices.

"STOP! PLEASE!!!" The people yell as they are dragged to their death. And yet the men stay silent as they watch the sacrifices cry out in agony.

One man doesn't beg though. No, he stands proud and walks to his spot without the assistance of the men. He stands there erect while the others, who were moaning about him, stare at him in awe.

He looks around and sees the faces of his fellow countrymen. He gazes at them and then begins to speak, "We are a proud people. You can kill us but we will always return. Try your best but you'll never win." With that he stares at the man on the opposite side of the room.

The man is sitting on his thrown and is undisturbed by the scene. He just smiles and waves his hand to commence the ceremony. Everyone gets into positions. The ceremony is quick but slow. The lightening from the reaction happened so fast but the screams of agony and pain lasted forever.

The horrific sounds were still ringing in Sciezska's ears when the man on the thrown turns to her and says, "Do you wish to cooperate now?"

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"She's what?" Roy asked as he stood up from behind his desk. 'Not good,' Roy thought, 'Sciezska's mind has the most sensitive information of the government. Dammit, her disappearance is NOT a good sign.'

Havoc stared at President Mustang. "I said that she was kidnapped! Weren't you listening? She's gone! There was blood! BLOOD!"

Al ad Ed looked at each other. They were just in a meeting with Mustang when Havoc appeared. So Mustang was right in telling them that Lamya was in danger. Now they just have to deal with Havoc and the kidnapping of Sciezska.

Ed stood up and put his hands on Havoc's shoulders. "What Sciezska doesn't need right now is you panicking. Now let's go see the scene of the crime."

Havoc nodded and led the group to Sciezska's office. He was surprised at the President's lack of commentary but Havoc only thought of that for a few minutes when they reentered Sciezska's office. Again his mind went blank. He couldn't think. His Sciezska was in danger. What had she done? Did she really have enemies?

Ed entered the room and immediately began to inspect everything. Al walked towards Sciezska's desk in order to find something, some sort of important document that she might have been working on or maybe a folder. He just needed evidence, an excuse for her disappearance.

"They came through the door and window. One from the door and two from the window. The one from the door was dressed as a soldier-"

"What makes you think that?" Roy asked Ed as he watched the boys go over the crime scene. He couldn't do anything. Mustang let the boys do their thing while he supervised. Besides he needed to watch Havoc, he was not coping well. Havoc kept taking out his cigarettes, take one and attempt to light it, but then he would get cold feet and he would put it away, only to take them out again a few seconds later. Meanwhile Ed and Al were inspecting every little detail of the room.

All of those years working for the United States government really paid off. Although Alphonse was better at gaining information, Ed was better at examining a crime scene. Of course being a scientist helped.

"Because he wouldn't have been able to enter Sciezska's office without one. Plus she would have sounded the alarm if she deemed him a threat," Ed said while he walked towards Al.

_Sciezska is typing away on the typewriter when there is a knock at the door._

Al sat down in Sciezska's seat and looked around. Ed came up from behind while Al talked to Mustang who was near the door.

"_Who is it?" Sciezska calls without looking up from her work. A muffled voice comes from the other side of the door. "I'm sorry, who?" Sciezska says in confusion._

"_I said that I was from the Research Department, Miss Sciezska. I'm here to pick up some reports," a masculine voice says from the other side of the door._

"_Oh, come on in! I'll be right with you!" Sciezska still has yet to look up from her work as the man enters the room._

"Come in President, how may I help you?" Al asked while staring intently at Mustang. He smirked and bowed.

"I was wondering if you knew any good books," Mustang said while walking up slowly to the desk.

_The man walks slowly up to Sciezska's desk and stops in front of her. Sciezska still hasn't looked up but instead just points to a stack of papers on the corner of her desk. "I'm sorry, but I'm very busy so I have no time to chat but here are the papers. If you have any questions about them don't hesitate to ask."_

"_Thank you Miss Sciezska. May I open a window? It seems stuffy in here," the man says as he walks over to the window._

"_Thank you! I would appreciate it," Sciezska says while checking her typing._

"_Of course," the man says while letting in his companions. The men from the window walk quickly next to the wall. They then quickly make their way to Sciezska's desk. The man from before walks to the desk and grabs the papers. "Until later then!" he cheers as he pretends to walk to the door._

Havoc watched intently, this is what happened. They were reenacting what Sciezska just went through but surely she wouldn't have been this distracted. She would only pay attention to someone who was an officer, a friend, or someone who wanted a book. The kidnappers obviously knew her weakness.

'So they've been doing their homework. But why? Why do they want Sciezska? If they wanted information then they could've just broken into the library. Why take a hostage? It's such a hassle and risk so why do it? What does Sciezska know that the library doesn't already contain?'

_Then one of the two window men grab Sciezska from behind and muffle her. She gasps and stabs the pen that she is using into the man's arm. He grunts in pain while the other man grabs Sciezska instead. He tries to drag her to the window but she keeps throwing books and papers in his face. _

_The third man finally steps in by knocking Sciezska unconscious. They then drag the limp woman to the window. The second window man jumps down and waits for the other two to give him Sciezska. Once they are all down they make their escape. _

As Havoc looked up from his thoughts Ed had attacked Al but Al was struggling, not with all of his strength, but struggling just the same. Ed dragged Al to the window and then pretended to throw him out of it. The brothers looked out the window and noticed that the earth had been disturbed. The grass was flat and dirt from the grounds could be seen in trails when the grass met side walk. It was a three person job.

"But what does Sciezska know that the library doesn't?" Mustang asked as he scratched his chin. Ed and Al stared at the ground in thought when something clicked.

The disappearances in the city.

The mutated bodies of Ishbalans found in the streets, with signs of alchemic torture.

Chimeras found running around the streets.

And now Sciezska's disappearance.

They all connected.

'Someone is trying to- No! It's impossible!' Edward thought as he looked up to see Alphonse staring at him with wide eyes. They had both come to the same conclusion but were too afraid and ignorant to speak of it. Maybe there was more to the story, maybe _it_ wasn't going to happen again. They needed more information and they needed it NOW.

"President Mustang, tell us everything that happened since we've been gone," the brothers said in unison.

Havoc and Mustang froze.

'Shit, something big's going to happen and we're already in the middle of it,' Mustang though as he said, "Where shall I begin?"

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"Protection?" Winry asked as she walked over to Lamya with a wet washcloth and a bowl of cool water. She put the bowl down and placed the cloth on Lamya's sweaty forehead. Riza had taken them back to her apartment to stay for a while. Apparently it was under the direct order of the President himself.

Riza nodded and unfolded the blankets onto the couch. "You two shall be kept under a watchful eye at all times, especially Lamya. Ishbalans have been the main victims in this case. You're not allowed to tell anyone though. If the public knew about this..."

The two women looked at each other with pained expressions. Amestrians and Ishbalans were finally getting along or at least mending the deep wounds between the two countries. If this got out... Let's just say that it would be REALLY bad.

Lamya still had not woken up from the incident on the train. This worried the women but they didn't know what to do to help her. So they tried to make Lamya as comfortable as possible. They put her on the extra cot that Riza owned and covered her with blankets.

After putting her to bed the women looked at Lamya's arm. The vein was larger than usual and it was pulsating glowing red blood. Whatever that man did to Lamya, it reacted weirdly with her body. When Winry gently touched Lamya's arm, Lamya would scream out in agony.

"So what's going to happen now?" Winry whispered as she changed the cloth on Lamya's head.

"I await President Mustang's orders," Riza said in a firm tone. She then turned to Winry and smiled softly, "Until then we can just stay here and try to be as comfortable as possible."

"I suppose..." Winry said before she was thrown off her chair. Riza's eyes widened while Winry looked shocked from her place on the ground.

Lamya was writhing in pain as her arm was glowing more and more intensely. She screamed and wouldn't stop. Her back arched in pain as her right arm clawed the left side of her chest in a desperate attempt to grab her glowing left arm.

"Lamya?? What's happening? LAMYA!!"

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Lamya stood in a dark room. Judging by the lack of windows it was underground. All four walls were concrete, including the ceiling and floor. Everything felt cold and hard, nothing in this place breathed of life. Curious about her surroundings Lamya began to walk but as she lifted one foot she was fast forwarded to another spot in the building.

There she saw the brutal murder of a group of people on a transmutation circle. She watched in horror as their souls were ripped apart. The worst part was that her left arm seemed to reverberate with them, as if they were one in the same. Lamya grabbed her arm in agony.

"Do you find it interesting?"

Lamya turned around to see a man in a dark cloak standing a few feet behind her. He brought his right arm up and held it open as if to point at the cruel display in front of them. He grinned as Lamya's face fell.

"Now, now," he said as he shook his head in a patronizing manner. Suddenly he was right in Lamya's ear and she stiffened from fright. "You should be thanking me for this. This was all done for you, in order for you to work at your fullest capacity," he whispered in Lamya's ear.

"LAMYA!"

Lamya looked past the man to see Sciezska reaching out to her from behind bars.

"Lamya!! NO!!" She screamed.

"Sciezska? What's going on? Sciezska? SCIEZSKA!!!"

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"SCIEZSKA!!"

"Lamya!"

Opening her eyes as fast as she could, Lamya quickly sat up. Lamya grabbed her head as she looked at her surroundings. She finally saw Riza and Winry looking at her with worried filled eyes. Winry leaned in and touched Lamya's forehead.

"Lamya, what happened? What's going on?" Winry asked in a desperate tone.

All Lamya could do was stare at the two women until she finally said, "I don't know. I just don't know."

* * *

OHHWEEEWOOOO!!!! And the plot thickens. So what did ya think? I updated faster didn't I? Well that's because... IT'S MANGOSORBET'S BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! :D

Update: It was MangoSorbet's Birthday a LONG time ago... -.-' But this is still dedicated to her. The reason for this being late is because dantecell's computer crashed and it ate my chapter... :'(

So. Thank you MangoSorbet and dantecell!!! Love you!! 3

BONUS

A beautiful girl walks in the room. Her hair is as black as night with a purple tint. Her eyes are the seas and the forests dancing together in entropy. She walks in with confidence but an air of elegance. The red dress that hugged her body swayed with everyone of her movements.

A man with jet black hair watches her walk across the room, his eyes never leave her face.

Who is this woman that has caught this man's attention?

Wait a sec... Who the hell is this man?

"It's rude to goggle like that Colonel Bastard," Ed stated as he took a drink of his juice. The rest of the military gang nodded in agreement. They were out to party, to celebrate Fullmetal's successful mission, not to pick up women.

"It is also rude to not truly appreciate and admire true beauty when one sees it Fullmetal. Of course, you would not understand this since your love life is so _small_," Roy commented as he took a sip of his drink. He stood up and left the table to go talk to the beautiful woman.

Roy Mustang struck up a conversation with the woman. All was well when.....

BAM!

"ROYAI FOREVER!!!" A crazed woman cried as she stabbed the random turkey that gobbled by. (Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! :D ).

BAM!

"NO! ROYED FOREVER!!!" Another woman screamed as she trampled over the mole that randomly crawled across... the... floor...

"What the hell is going on??" Atemu'sLotus asks as totally entropy ensues.

"NO!! RIZAXED FOREVER!!!" A man yelled from the corner and the disappeared in the depths of the darkness surrounding him.

More people began to yell and scream and kill turkeys until Roy had enough.

"SILENCE!"

Surprisingly everyone stood still and listened.

Gaining their attention Roy turned to the girl and said, "If I prove myself will you go out with me?"

The girl nodded in confusion and waited for Roy to do or say something to prove himself. Heck, he didn't need to prove himself she wanted to go out with him ever since she met him. He was handsome, polite, suave, and for some reason seemed to be shrouded in a dark past. She enjoyed his company so far so he didn't need to prove anything but so it goes...

Suddenly he grabbed her and gave her a quick but passionate kiss.

Nobody moved.

And then suddenly the fangirls fainted.

Atemu'sLotus ran out into the middle of the floor and screamed.

"Happy Birthday MangoSorbet!!!"

* * *

Please enjoy!

See ya!!


	22. Chapter 22

Hola again! Long time no see! :(

My editor MangoSorbet is writing a story and I am her editor. The shoe's on the other foot ne? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

So my chapter is due.

On with the show!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was sitting in her kitchen eating cereal. Not just any cereal, cereal that had FMA Rights as the prize inside. Then her older brother came in and ate the box. Damn it!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"She was crying out Sciezska's name in her sleep?"

"Yes, President Mustang," Riza answered on the phone. While Riza was talking, she was also keeping an eye on the people in her living room. Lamya had just woken up from a dream, no, a night terror. It seemed like she saw something to do with Sciezska but no one could calm her down enough for her to talk.

"What happened? Did she see anything pertaining to Sciezska?" Mustang asked.

"I think so. We should keep an eye on Sciezska just in case though Sir," Riza said as she began to prepare an ice pack for Lamya's arm. The pause on the phone stopped Riza. "Sir?"

Mustang was silent for a minute. "Sciezska's gone missing."

Riza almost dropped the ice pack. Missing? Sciezska's gone missing? And right after this night terror that Lamya had? "Sir what is going on? What is happening?"

"I don't know Riza, I don't know. For right now try to get Lamya to talk. I'll send Alphonse over to see if he can do anything to calm her down." A noise in the background confirmed that the people in the office agreed with this statement. Alphonse was the closest to Lamya at that point even though they weren't talking to each other. That, and the fact that Ed needed to stay in order to confirm some facts with Mustang on the crime scene.

Riza nodded. "All right then. If you have any more orders then send them with Alphonse Sir."

"Yes," Mustang paused and then said, "Please stay safe Riza."

She smiled at his heartfelt request and then softly replied, "Only if you do Roy. Good bye."

"Bye."

Riza hung up the phone and walked into her living room. She walked over to the two women on the couch. Lamya was having a panic attack while Winry was trying to calm her down. This had been going on for a good ten minutes. What made it worse was that Lamya's arm seemed to be glowing more than ever before.

'What did that psycho do to her?' Riza thought as she gave Winry the ice pack. Winry nodded and tried to apply it to Lamya's arm but she kept moving and babbling about lightening and death and how it was all her fault. 'Whatever it was he is going to pay,' Riza thought as she asked what was Lamya's fault.

Lamya began to cry and rocked back and forth sobbing, "My fault... Sciezska... No...." A small whimper and moan escaped from the tortured girl's lips as she recoiled from Winry's touch.

"What did he say?" Winry asked as she temporarily gave up on trying to put the icepack on Lamya. Riza motioned for Winry to follow her to the hallway and then spoke when they were both out of Lamya's hearing range.

Riza sighed and crossed her arms, "Sciezska's gone missing and-"

"What??" Winry shot up and stared straight into Riza's eyes, "You're lying! What happened?? Where's Sciezska?" Winry grabbed Riza's arms and began to shake the poor woman.

Riza grabbed Winry's arms in return and stopped her. "We don't need this right now, Winry. We need to remain calm and see if we can get any information out of Lamya, it might help. Now, calm down and help us out."

Winry's arms went limp and she sighed. "Too much is happening too fast. I can't take it... Are... Are Ed and Al being targeted again?" Winry asked while looking up at Riza.

Truthfully? Probably. But at this point nothing was sure. The only targets so far have been Sciezska and Lamya. Is the enemy after them or are they just toying with the Elric brothers? Riza just stared at the girl, she couldn't possibly answer her.

"Why?" Winry asked in a broken sob, "Why does everyone find the need to torture them? Why can't Ed and Al live in peace?"

Again, Riza didn't have an answer for the poor girl, all she could do was embrace her and pat her head. "They'll find a way. They always do."

"I don't know..... I don't know...." Lamya chanted as she broke out into sobs. She had stayed silent there for a while to listen to the two women but the silence and the lack of answers made Lamya panic again.

"I don't know..."

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"She doesn't want me to talk to her," Alphonse said as President Mustang hung up the phone. Ed and Havoc were sitting down discussing what happened when Alphonse stood, "My presence will only panic her more."

Mustang looked at Havoc then Ed for confirmation. Havoc shrugged his shoulders while Ed looked at the floor.

"You two may be in an.... awkward situation at the moment but in the current state that she is in, Lamya will definitely not remember it. She needs someone to calm her down and frankly, she's been around you two longer then anyone else here. You understand her and what she is thinking better than we do. Al, this is the time that she needs you the most, be there for her," Havoc said as he stood up and patted Al's shoulder.

Al nodded slowly and then looked at Ed. He agreed with Havoc, "Al, go. And... And while you are there tell Winry that I'll come over in a bit. Right now, we need to set up some things and then we'll be over. She must be freaking out by now. So, go. Go help Lamya."

Everyone looked at him as he walked towards the door slowly. A resigned sigh escaped Al's lips as he grabbed the door handle to leave. "All right then, I'm off. See you in a few. Anything you want me to pass on Col- I mean President Mustang?"

Mustang shook his head and walked behind his desk. He sighed and sat down in his chair with a huff. "Whoever is doing this is going to pay and pay dearly. No one messes up my presidency."

Al just nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, and left. President Mustang's car and chauffeur were waiting outside to take him to Riza's house. Alphonse got in and settled into the back seat of the car. Everything had gone down hill ever since Rose kissed him.

That is what confused him the most. Why did Rose kiss him? Moreover, why did she have to kiss him in front of Lamya? He did not dislike Rose or anything but, he got over his crush for her a long time ago, especially when he knew that she only had eyes for Ed.

"What happened to that anyways?" Alphonse mumbled as he looked out the window while resting his chin in his palm. She was supposed to like Ed, not him. "Women are confusing..."

The way Lamya reacted to the kiss was even more puzzling. Why didn't she yell at Rose? Or at him? He knew that it wasn't in Lamya's nature to do that but when he thought back to the train incident nothing was totally impossible.

"But I love her..." Alphonse whispered as he sighed. He leaned his head against the window and reveled in the coolness. After all of these years he still appreciated feeling especially after all those years in that suit of armor, nothing would change that but why were _these_ feelings so hard?

"We're here Mr. Elric," the driver said as he stopped the car.

'That drive was way too short,' Alphonse thought as he thanked the driver and walked up to the building, 'What am I supposed to say? I have no idea what I am supposed to do…' Alphonse knocked on the door.

Riza opened the door on the second knock and let Alphonse in. They were in the entrance way when Winry ran up to him and asked, "Are you ok? Where is Ed? Al what is going on?"

Alphonse sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm fine Winry and so is Ed but right now things are shaky," Winry's face dropped and Al quickly added, "But Ed said that he was coming over as soon as he finished putting a project together." With that, he added a smile to reassure her.

Winry smiled back sadly and nodded. "Thanks Al. Now go help Lamya, we can't calm her down."

Alphonse nodded and then gently touched Winry's arm as encouragement, and walked into the living room.

When Alphonse was in the car ride over he had no clue what he would do to calm Lamya down and to the exact second before he saw her again he still had no clue. It was when he saw her broken form on the couch that his mind went blank and then into over drive.

"Lamya," Alphonse said clearly, as if he was calling to her. He opened his arms to her.

She looked up and tears began to flow as she called out, "Alphonse! I don't know!!" Lamya got off the couch and collapsed into his open arms.

They sunk to the floor in exhaustion, exhaustion from worrying, from wanting, and from waiting for each other. All of the awkwardness from before evaporated. Their argument or misunderstanding didn't matter at that point. They just needed each other. Alphonse gathered Lamya into his arms and began to stroke her hair.

"Sh…" he whispered gently in her ear, "Sh… It's ok Lamya, I'm here. Please don't cry anymore. I'm right here, I'm right here…"

Riza and Winry glanced at each other and left the room. The couple needed some privacy and the two women were generous enough to allow it. 'Besides,' Winry and Riza thought as they walked away, 'It's about time that those two got together.'

Lamya sniffled as she tightly hugged Alphonse. She felt so safe and so warm. The pain in her left arm dulled to a soft ache when she was holding onto Alphonse. She sighed and then snuggled deeper into him.

Alphonse smiled as his grip on her tightened. He needed to make something clear to her before they went any farther but he didn't know how to put it. So, they just sat there like that for a few minutes until Alphonse spoke.

"I don't like Rose."

"You don't like her too?" Lamya asked innocently as she looked up at him with red eyes.

He chuckled and wiped away some of her stray tears. "Well… Maybe not like you but I want you to know that I don't have any romantic feelings for her."

"Then why-"

"I don't know why she kissed me but I want you to know that it wasn't… mutual…" Alphonse said with a blush. 'Great… Now is not the time to get nervous.'

Lamya blushed as well and then leaned her head against his chest. "Why tell me now?"

"Because," Alphonse whispered as he lifted up her chin so that they were facing each other, "If anything happens to me while we're investigating this case I want you to know…"

Lamya leaned in. "To know what?"

In a sudden burst of adrenaline, Alphonse gathered up his courage and whispered hoarsely, "To know that I love you." And with that, he gently kissed her lips.

At first there was no response so Alphonse was about to stop when he left Lamya's delicate hands comb through his hair and kiss back. His eyes widened for a second and then he leaned in to enjoy more of the kiss. They stayed like that for a little bit and then they parted for air. A phone rang in the other room but the two ignored it and leaned on each other's foreheads. Their breaths intermingled and they both bathed in the intimacy.

"I love you Alphonse," Lamya said as she blushed and looked down.

Alphonse blushed as well and then kissed her forehead. "Good it's easier that way."

The couple chuckled and were about to kiss again when Riza walked into the room.

"The President needs you back. They found something important," Riza said as she stopped by the couch.

Alphonse nodded and looked down at Lamya. She smiled back up at him and kissed his nose.

"Gotcha back," she giggled and then let go of him. The pain in her arm increased but just to a slight tingling. "Please be careful."

"I will," Alphonse promised as he hugged Lamya one more time and then nodded at Riza, "I shall see you later Miss Hawkeye."

Riza nodded and watched him stand up and walk out of the door. She turned to Lamya and smiled with Lamya blushing in response.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alphonse walked into the President's office. The three men stopped and looked at him in confusion, which made Alphonse pause. "Didn't you want to talk with me President Mustang?"

Roy stood up straight. "No… I didn't call you at all. Why? Why aren't you with Riza, Miss Rockbell, and Lamya?"

Alphonse froze in the doorway, "But you called me. Miss Hawkeye said that you called her to tell me to return."

Everyone looked at each other and knew that they fell for the oldest trick in the book. The people that they were fighting were more resourceful then they had expected and now they were about to pay. But with what?

The phone rang and Mustang quickly picked it up while staring at Alphonse. "Yes? What is it?" Roy asked into the receiver. There was silence until Roy's face contorted. "I see, thank you. I'll be there shortly." He hung up the phone and then pressed the buzzer on his desk. "Mrs. Avery I want my car, NOW."

Ed and the rest stood up and followed Mustang out of the office. They passed Mrs. Avery who was scrambling to get the car in time. Mustang didn't say anything until they all piled into the car. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled even more.

"President?" Fuery prodded as they all stared at Mustang.

Mustang glared at all of them and then said, "We will catch these men and they will pay."

"Sir where are we headed?" the driver said while looking back through the mirror.

"The hospital and step on it." Mustang ordered as he looked out the window.

Everyone froze. There were only three people who could be in that hospital. Only three people weren't there in the car. And there was only one person who was in danger of being kidnapped.

"Shit," Ed whispered as they sped down the street. No one else spoke the entire trip.

Alphonse's mind began to spin. He had just confessed to Lamya and now this? Was he destined to be alone in this world? First Lamia died and now something might be wrong with Lamya. Should he just stop this love in order for her to remain safe?

A pang ran through his heart at that thought. Did he have to give up on his love for Lamya in order for her to be safe? Was that the price that he had to pay for her safety?

When they reached the hospital, they all scrambled out of the car. Roy was in the lead with Alphonse and Edward on his heels as they entered the hospital. A nurse came up to the president and said, "Follow me."

They all followed quickly and quietly. The nurse opened the door to a room and the guys all piled to see Winry crying next to the bed while Riza's broken body was shallowly breathing. Winry looked up and sobbed, "Ed…"

Ed was by her side and holding her in the next second while Alphonse was panicking. 'Where is Lamya? Why isn't she here? What happened? WHY ISN'T SHE HERE??'

"Win what happened?" Ed said as he looked down at her while still holding onto her shaking form.

"She's gone. They took her. They took Lamya."

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Are you happy now? They kissed AND I updated. Well? :D

So college… Yeah… Anyways, in a couple of chapters I am going to put up a survey so please respond to it. :)

BONUS

"Because," Alphonse whispered as he lifted her chin so that they were facing each other, "If anything happens to me while we're investigating this case I want you to know…"

Lamya leaned in. "To know what?"

In a sudden burst of adrenaline, Alphonse gathered up his courage and whispered hoarsely, "To know that I SHOJO MANGA!!!" And with that, he ran out of the room to buy Fruits Basket DVDs and mangas.

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If you got the relationship between Alphonse and Fruits Basket then you get a cookie! :D

Please enjoy and see ya!!


	23. Chapter 23

Hola!

How long has it been? Sigh…

I have been playing KOTOR a lot lately. I love it!! If anyone else plays KOTOR or KOTOR II tell me! Isn't Revan AWESOME?? :D

Ok, ok, on with the show!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was sitting in her kitchen drinking juma juice when a kath hound walked into her kitchen. She stopped and stared at it. It had the FMA rights around its collar! Atemu'sLotus pounced but then Vader came out of no where and stabbed her with a lightsaber. Darn it Vader!! I do not own FMA or Star Wars. ;p

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"Can you tell us exactly what happened to you guys?" Ed asked a shaking Winry. They were still in the hospital room but some of the men had gotten chairs for people to sit down in. Winry was clinging to Ed while he sat next to her and tried to calm her down.

Alphonse was unresponsive after he learned that Lamya was gone. He was in his own little world now and Ed didn't like it one bit. Alphonse wasn't the only one in their own little world though. Havoc was still thinking about Sciezska and her disappearance while Roy was staring intently at Riza. Ed knew that Roy was paying attention to the conversation but again, he was still in his own little world.

"No, but I could tell you what I heard," Winry whispered as she wiped away some of her tears and squeezed Ed's hand.

Ed squeezed back and took out a handkerchief for her. She blew her nose and sniffled but before she could continue, Fuery interrupted.

"What do you mean what you heard? You didn't see anything?" Fuery asked as he readjusted himself in his chair.

Winry hung her head in silence. Everyone stopped and turned to look at Winry who remained silent.

"Winry?" Ed moved forward and touched her leg. She looked away for a second and then back at Ed.

"I couldn't see anything because… because I was locked in the bathroom…" Winry mumbled in shame.

If the situation had not been so serious everyone would have burst into laughter, instead Roy groaned. Their only suspect who could identify the captures was blind at the scene. Riza was so badly injured that she would not wake up until a couple of days later. Schiezka and Lamya didn't have the luxury of time though.

"I'm sorry," Winry whispered as she began to tear up again. She tried to hide her tear stained face but Ed stopped her.

Ed rubbed her back and squeezed her hand to reassure her to continue. She looked up at him and nodded, now was not the time to worry about appearances so she just pulled a strand of hair back and continued with her story.

"I was washing my hands in the bathroom when I heard the door lock…"

_Winry looked up at the mirror and smiled. She splashed water against her face and sighed._

"_Everything will be all right. Ed and Al will get Schiezka back and the they will defeat the bad guys and everything will be fine. Everything will be fine." Winry sighed and leaned on the sink. She was trying to convince herself but was failing badly. It seemed that Ed and Al always had someone after them. When was this carnage going to end?_

"_When will it all end?" Winry said aloud._

"_Next week."_

"_Winry whisked around to see a man dressed in all black standing at the door. Winry backed away slowly and gripped the plunger from behind the toilet._

"_Who the hell are you?" Winry asked as she tried to listen for Riza in the hallway. Right after she finished her questions a faint sound of the release of compressed air was heard. "What the hell-"_

_The man at the door slammed the door shut. It locked as Riza's screams and gunshots filled the air._

"_RIZA?" Winry screamed as she lunged for the door. Winry took out some of the tools that she carried with her and tried to pick the lock but someone was on the other side blocking her escape. More sounds of the release of compressed air could be heard and Riza struggling. This went on for a few more minutes with the sounds of people screaming and then loud thumping. More gunshots and air compression release could be heard when suddenly Lamya's voice filtered through._

_She was screaming, "No! No stop! Please! Leave her alone! You want me, stop hurting her! STOP IT! STO-"_

_Winry leaned her head up against the door with tears in her eyes as she heard a thump and the shuffling of feet. Some people were talking to each other but Winry couldn't understand them since they were speaking in a foreign tongue._

"_Vamos!" Someone shouted as the apartment became deadly silent once more. Winry, now crying nonstop shook the door handle in an attempt to escape. The door gave and Winry fell on the floor. She looked up to see a dead man staring at her in the face._

"_Ah!!" Winry screamed as she scrambled to get up and away from the corpse. She looked around to see bullet holes riddled along the walls and two to three dead men in the hallway. Winry threw up in the corner as the smell of gunpowder and blood wafted through the apartment. Slowly Winry got to her feet and stumbled to the living room where she last saw Riza and Lamya. As she entered, she saw two more bodies up against a wall, bleeding from the chest. Some movement caught Winry's attention and she flinched. _

"_Who's there?" Winry screamed as she picked up the lamp. She slowly looked over the couch to see Riza moving, or at least trying to breathe. "Riza!" Winry looked around quickly and then rushed to Riza's side. She kept the lamp in her hands as she knelt down next to Riza. Riza lifted an eye lid and coughed up some blood._

"_She's gone…She's…" Riza coughed up some more and then curled in on herself. _

_Winry checked Riza's vitals, begging, "Don't die Riza. Please don't die…" Winry stood up quickly and jumped over Riza to the phone. She dialed a number and waited. "I need an ambulance! Please! She's dying! Riza's dying!"_

"I couldn't do anything, I couldn't do anything," Winry repeated as the tears returned once more. She finished her tale and now everyone was trying to assess the situation.

"You said that you heard a faint sound of air compression release? And that there were bullet holes all over the apartment?" Forman asked.

Winry nodded as Ed scratched his chin. "Silencers."

"What?" Roy looked up in confusion. Everyone else looked at Ed waiting for him to continue.

"The perpetrators used silencers," Ed repeated. That is when Alphonse snapped out of his own little world. He and Ed made eye contact and Al's eyes widened in surprise.

"But that hasn't been invented here yet," Alphonse said and the whispered, "it can't be."

Ed nodded and his scowl deepened. "I guess we weren't the only ones to get through."

"But… When? When did they?" Al said as he stared at his older brother trying to figure out this mystery.

"It had to be before we came," Ed said as he stood up and stared to pace. "They had to plan this out carefully and slowly. It takes a long time to get used to a new country let alone a new world."

"But how did they know that we would be returning?" Alphonse asked as he looked the wall behind Ed, contemplating the powers their new enemy had.

"They didn't know. We were just a highly convenient accident," Ed said before he turned to Winry and knelt down in front of her. "Win, I need you to tell me something. How long did you hear the release of compressed air? Did it last long and was it continual? As in nonstop, no pauses."

Winry looked down in concentration and tried to remember. "Yes, it was continual but it only lasted for a few minutes."

"Then they arrived here about the time we arrived over there," Alphonse said.

Something clicked and Roy looked between the two brothers. "You mean, they came from…"

"Yeah," Ed nodded and then crossed his arms over his chest, "They came from the other side of The Gate."

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Sorry but this is a short chapter. I need the rest of the material for the next chapter, which I am off to do right now because I am on a writing kick.

I want to thank my beta readers, dantecell and MangoSorbet!

EXTRA (Beta reader edition)

MangoSorbet

"Winry?" Ed moved forward and touched her leg. (OMG ECCHI!!!!! XD)

"_When will it all end?" Winry said aloud. _(When I get cotton candy!!!!! RAWR!!!!)

Something clicked and Roy looked between the two brothers. "You mean, they came from…" (...outer space 0.o)

"Yeah," Ed nodded and then crossed his arms over his chest, "They came from the other side of The Gate."( DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!)

Dantecell

She looked away for a second and then back at Ed. (It was a strain due to the height differences.)

_She splashed water against her face and sighed._ (I need a beer.)

_Winry backed away slowly and gripped the plunger from behind the toilet._ (Since she knows the plunger is the natural enemy of the mortician.)

_Right after she finished her questions a faint sound of the release of compressed air was heard. "What the hell-"_ (Dude we have a no fart policy.)

"_No! No stop! Please! Leave her alone! You want me, stop hurting her! STOP IT! STO-"_ (Stolsky? What is a Russian author attacking ya?)

"They had to plan this out carefully and slowly. It takes a long time to get used to a new country let alone a new world." (But it takes no time to get used to a new pair of pants.)

"But how did they know that we would be returning?" Alphonse asked as he looked the wall behind Ed, contemplating the powers their new enemy had. (Good God they could have televangelists on their sides!)

"Win, I need you to tell me something. How long did you hear the release of compressed air? Did it last long and was it continual? As in nonstop, no pauses." (Man that could mean automatic farters.)

"Yes, it was continual but it only last for a few minutes." (Like you in bed.)

"You mean, they came from…" (The Black Lagoon.)

Well this has to be the suckiest extra I have ever read. I mean the extras are up to snuff and now this shitty one ruins it all. I hope you f*$&%g lose. (That was Dantecell… -.-')

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Please enjoy!

See ya later!


	24. Chapter 24

Hi! Long time no see!!

I was not lying when I said that I was working on the next chapter right away. I know the last one ended quite abruptly but that is because I wanted to end it there and also because I couldn't think of a transition to the next scene. -.-'

ANYWAYS!

On with the show!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was sitting out there on her porch when the FMA rights butterfly came fluttering into her yard. Slowly, so as not to scare the fragile little thing, Atemu'sLotus picked up her bug net and then lunged. She looked up in triumph only to see that she had caught Larry, the garden gnome.

The room was dark and cold. The emptiness that filled the space crushed the soul that laid there. She was not alone however; there was one other person in the room. Her soul was used to the pressure and therefore unaffected by the desperation that hung in the air. She was not completely apathetic to the situation though. She moved towards the other soul in the room, slowly, since she was wounded and badly beaten.

Ruffles of clothing being dragged and the crunching of dried blood was heard as the other person made their way towards the other soul in the room. The person checked what she knew to be vitals and found that the other soul was alive. The other soul stirred from the touch and turned over. She looked straight into darkness until her eyes focused.

"Sciezska?" the lone soul whispered.

The other person did not move. Her head and neck hurt too much to move and her voice had left her long ago. In response, she collapsed on the only other living soul in the room and tried not to cry over her already dried tears. The other soul, not knowing what to do, just stroked Sciezska's hair and cried her tears.

The coldness encompassed them once more.

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"How the hell did they get through?" Ed growled as he threw a book at the wall in frustration. Alphonse ignored him and kept reading a certain page in a folder he found. President Mustang watched Ed pace for a while and then went back into deep thought.

"Are these the same people who attacked you on the train?" Havoc asked as he picked up the innocent battered book. He placed it back on the table next to Alphonse.

Ed paced around for a bit and then nodded. "Yes…yes, the attackers on the trains and these attackers are the same. Their actions are too similar to be a coincidence."

"Why did they take Sciezska and then Lamya but, not Riza or Miss Rockbell?" Havoc asked again as he inhaled half of his cigarette.

"Because they are trying to make another Philosopher's Stone," Ed said as he stopped to look at some rogue papers from Al's research.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the Elric brothers. That explained why they wanted Sciezska. Sciezska had the 'recipe book' for making the Philosopher's Stone but it was encoded so it would be useless. Neither Winry nor Riza knew the code so kidnapping them was illogical. Lamya wasn't in Central when the final battle went down and anything afterwards until recently, so she knew less than Winry and Riza. Everything made sense except for Lamya's kidnapping. Well… There was that problem with her arm but… Was that even connected?

"Where and with who?" Roy asked as he stood up to face Ed.

Ed shook his head and sighed. "I have no idea."

Alphonse put his pen down and looked at his calculations. "They're near Lamya's old house. Near the Ishbalan refugees."

"How do you know that?" Ed asked as he leaned over the table to look at Al's calculations. The calculations consisted of all of the attacks on Ishbalan people, where they disappeared, and where their bodies were discovered. Much to Ed's horror there was a pattern. Alphonse had traced the pattern in darker pen to reveal the symbol of the Nazi party. Ed dropped the paper and stumbled back.

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP STOP!!"_

"_Miss Grass, you have been charged with associating with Jews and aiding them in the ghettos. Our people have seen you come every two weeks with baskets upon baskets of supplies. You have given them food, clothing, and other essentials. This is treason against the state. You have also been charged with slave labor. You have corrupted these young men and made them do your bidding through the power of the devil. What do you have to say to that Miss Grass?"_

"_Hush my little ones. Know that I love you and always will. Live your life and remember to be happy. And please, please never forget me."_

"_Aim!"_

"_PLEASE! STOP! PLEASE DON'T DO IT!!! STOP!!!! NO!"_

"_FIRE!"_

"_NO! LAMIA!"_

The memories from that horrible day came flooding back but his time Lamia wasn't the only one who died. Lamya was standing right beside her parallel universe twin in life and death. Ed's chest began to squeeze as he remembered those painful memories and tried to breathe.

"Ed! ED!" Roy shouted as he shook Ed's shoulders. Alphonse was staring blankly at the table while Ed had become frozen stiff. At first, no one moved but after a minute, they became worried.

Ed looked at Roy, who was shaking him but he didn't care about that and stared at Al. Alphonse slowly turned his head to look at his brother.

When they made eye contact Alphonse stated, "I refuse to lose Lamya to them."

Ed came back to reality and nodded. He looked at Roy and then at Roy's hands. "Would you get off of me?" Roy let go and Ed adjusted himself, "Now what?"

"Now, we go save Lamya and Sciezska," Alphonse said as he stood up. He grabbed his coat and walked out the door without another word. Ed turned to Roy, nodded, and then followed Alphonse.

"Should we follow them sir?" Breda asked as he stood up.

Roy stopped for a minute and then the phone rang. He picked up the phone and listened while everyone else waited for orders. After a while, Roy nodded and thanked the other person and then hung up the phone.

"Riza's awake. Let's go," Roy said as he walked out the door. Everyone gathered their stuff and followed suit, completely forgetting about the Elric Brothers and where they were going off to.

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Roy and the crew entered the hospital room to see Riza staring at the other side of the wall. Well, she tried. Her left eye was swollen shut while a welt the size of a baseball was above her right eye. Her lips were broken and swollen just like the rest of her body. Her breath was shaky but even.

Winry slept in a chair on the left side of the room. The men stepped quietly into the room and stood near the window while Roy went forward and touched Riza's right arm. She looked out of her right eye at Roy and her bottom lip moved. She tried to move her mouth to speak and then closed her eye out of pain. Roy gently squeezed her arm.

"It's okay Riza, you don't need to talk," Roy whispered.

Her eye remained shut for a little bit and the group thought that she had fallen back asleep when she spoke.

"Fvv…five…"

Roy leaned in and said, "Five what?"

"Five got away… Got six… Black coats… Spoke…" Riza coughed and then leaned back into her pillows. "Spoke a different language… They s-stopped beating me w-when…" She stopped and a tear came out of her open eye. She tried to speak some more but something pulled at her heartstrings. Her mission was to make sure that Winry and Lamya were safe. Winry was safe but Lamya… "I failed…"

The team looked down and Roy sat down on the bed. Riza didn't look at him but he spoke anyway, "Right now, we need a plan, not negative thinking. Is there anything else that you can tell us that would help us fight them?"

There was a long pause and then Riza let out a long breath. "I f-figured out… Lamya's arm… Philosopher's Stone….Ssshe'ss a hossst…" At that, Riza coughed and fell asleep once more. Her entire body was exhausted and needed the rest.

Roy was frozen from the news. The enemy had somehow gotten a hold of Lamya and planted a Philosopher's Stone inside her arm. When she was attacked on the train for the second time, the enemy had activated it so that when they had finally come for her… The Elric brother's were right. They were creating a Philosopher's Stone. Lamya's kidnapping now made sense.

"Sir?" Havoc asked as they watched Roy stare at the wall in contemplation.

Roy shook his head and stood up. "Lamya's their sacrifice. They're going to make a Philosopher's Stone out of the Ishbalan refugees."

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"Mustang isn't following us Al," Ed pointed out as they stood on the bank of the river. The river separated the city from the refugee camp that was created after the war with Dante. Ed looked back over his shoulder and wondered how they were going to make it since Mustang had no idea where Lamya's old house was. Without that, he couldn't come in for back up, back up that Alphonse and Ed sorely needed.

Alphonse was studying the river and ignored Ed. He looked around for some wood and found an abandoned boat. He began to walk towards it when Ed grabbed Al's arm.

"Did you hear what I said? We need to make contact with President Mustang before we move out otherwise this is a suicide mission."

"Lamya has a phone in her house. It's the closest phone right now," Alphonse said as snapped out of Ed's hold.

Ed looked at Al in consternation. Alphonse wasn't thinking thoroughly and it could cost them. They should have waited for the President to follow them but instead they charged forward. It sounded like a move Ed would have done so many years ago but he had learned from his time in Germany and the United States that back-up and relying on others was essential in these situations.

The sad thing was that Alphonse was right. They, meaning Ed, had checked the nearest houses in the city and to their, Ed's, dismay there was a power outage in the area thus cutting off all communication. The only working phone that they knew of was in Lamya's house, across the river.

Ed sighed and Alphonse walked towards the boat. After thinking it over one last time, Ed gave in and walked over to the boat. Suddenly Ed had a flash back and stepped away from the familiar boat.

"Isn't that…"

"Yeah, it's the boat we escaped on," Alphonse said as he went to inspect the motor. Ed cautiously stepped up to the broken boat and looked it over.

"I thought that I crashed this thing. How the hell did this get here?" Ed said, as he looked at the repairs that someone made.

Alphonse handed Ed a piece of paper with German written on it. "They were expecting us."

Ed looked at Alphonse who was still inspecting the engine. "So we're basically walking into a trap."

"Basically," Alphonse continued with his inspection and then turned on the motor. It roared to life and Ed stood there on the shore. He refused to get into the boat. Alphonse looked up at his brother with a frown. "Get in the boat Ed."

Ed remained on the shore. He was obviously not comfortable with this. The Nazis were brutal and highly intelligent; walking into a trap was not a smart idea when it came to dealing with them. Of course, walking into traps in general is bad but usually there was a way to turn the tables on your opponents. The Nazis were too smart to have that happen to them and that is what worried Ed. If they wanted to properly save their two friends from the Nazis then they would need a better plan than this.

"What do we do after this Al? Just let them take us? We need to do something else," Ed said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Like what Ed! They could be killing Lamya right now and all we are doing is standing here complaining about a boat! We need to help her!" Al yelled. He did not want to argue right now. All that was on his mind right now was getting Lamya back. He was not going to lose her again.

"Al! Stop being stupid!"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I said stop being stupid! This is not going to help Lamya OR Sciezska!"

"This isn't helping either! So, you stop being stupid and get in the boat!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No! Listen to m-"

"I'm sick and tired of just listening! I want to do something! I want to save Lamya! I have to save her! I have-" Alphonse was tired from all of the screaming and everything the world had decided to throw on him. He looked up at Ed with desperate eyes, "I love her Brother. I can't lose her."

"Then let's do this right," Ed said as he looked at Alphonse. He then started to think of what they could do instead of falling for the Nazis trap. They needed to use the boat, that much was certain but did the Nazis know that they would be going towards Lamya's old house in order to contact the President? What if… What if they used someone else's house instead? But whose…

"Brother, we should check the lake," Al said as he sat down in the boat.

Ed stopped and then nodded. "That must be where a connection to The Gate is located but maybe we should-"

"_Yes… Go to the lake my dear Elric brothers. Go…"_

"Who the hell was that?" Ed asked as he looked around for a source. Alphonse looked at his brother in confusion. The voice Ed heard was inside his head ergo Alphonse had no idea what the heck his brother was talking about.

A sudden rumble of clouds took the brothers out of their moment of confusion.

"Did you read the forecast today?" Ed asked Al as a water droplet fell on his nose. Before Alphonse could answer his brother, the heavens cracked open with a loud snap and rain pelted the earth.

"I don't think it matters now.." Alphonse said as he became soaked in five seconds flat. "So what are we going to do now?"

Ed hopped in the boat and sat down near the motor. "Well, now we have to find shelter… Or…"

"_Yes…"_

"Or we can go to the lake."

"_Yes. Go to the lake…"_

"Let's see where the rain takes us brother," Alphonse said as he steered the boat towards the opposite shore. Although Alphonse said that, he was really trying to steer for Lamya's old house. After thinking about it for a few minutes, Alphonse realized that Ed was right in that they needed backup. He had almost cursed himself for acting so rashly when Lamya's life was on the line.

As they reached the opposite shore, they docked and then started to walk north. The rain was so blinding that the Elric brothers couldn't see anything that wasn't ten feet in front of them. At one point, they did pass a house but it wasn't Lamya's so Ed and Al quietly sneaked past it. Eventually they ended up walking into water.

"Shit, I guess we made it to the lake," Ed growled as he backed out of the water.

Al's heart sunk as he tried to figure out how to get back to Lamya's house. His unconsciousness at the time they were first at the lake all those months ago didn't help him in the least bit. "Brother where is Lamya's house from here?"

Ed looked around in vain and then sighed. "All I remember is running to my left because a group of Ishbalans were over that ridge over there-"

"There they are! After them!" An Ishbalan yelled to a group of thugs behind him. The group of about ten men came running down the ridge towards the Elric brothers.

"What the f-" Ed started to scream.

Al grabbed Ed's arm before he could finish his sentence and began to run. After two seconds, Ed shook Al off and ran on his own. They were running for a few minutes until Ed grabbed Al from falling down the cliff again.

"Looks like were gonna have to fight them!" Ed yelled as the rain came down harder.

Al clapped his hands and created a statue of sand. Then he clapped his hands again and bonded a piece of his soul to the lifeless statue. It came to life and began to run towards the enemy. Meanwhile Ed clapped his hands and created a long spear. The Ishbalans attacked and the brothers began to fight. Thankfully no one had any guns so it was just melee fighting. Alphonse had just knocked down an Ishbalan when a little girl screamed.

Alphonse turned around to see a group of men coming across the sand with guns. Al was about to warn Ed that the Ishbalans had guns when one of the men shot an Ishbalan dead. The whole fight went into chaos as more shots rang out in the air as even more Ishbalans came down to fight while the mysterious group of people kept gunning them down. As the group came closer, Alphonse could hear orders being yelled in German.

"Nazis," Al whispered.

Before he could run to attack them, one of the soldiers aimed for the little girl. Alphonse recognized her as Sephia and tried to call out her name. The rain was coming down too strong for her to pay attention to him. So, Alphonse dove for Sephia and as a result was shot in his right calf. After catching Sephia in his arms Alphonse fell to the ground in agony and as a result fell down the cliff, into the little cave that rested at the bottom. Alphonse protected Sephia's head as they came crashing down. Sadly, Alphonse once again banged his head up against the fated rock that resided in the cave. He became unconscious.

Sephia just shook in Alphonse's arms as she heard more and more gunshots and people screaming. After a few minutes, there was nothing but silence. Sephia began to cry and held onto Alphonse's wet shirt. It was two days later that Alphonse woke up and found that Ed was gone.

And so it goes. See? Wasn't this a pleasantly fast update? :)

Hm… For the BONUS…. I shall have to see after I get some feedback from my people.

And I got some feed back. MangoSorbet suggested that the betareaders (and myself) interview the characters. Or in her own words, " It would be nice to have your lovely, undying, eternally wonderful beta readers 'talk' with the characters…. You know like…. Roy……"

-.-'

Therefore there will now be an interview between the beta readers and the characters. I have asked Dantecell and MangoSorbet to choose who they wish to speak to so let the show begin.

BONUS

The interview room has the FMA Cast, Dantecell, MangoSorbet, and Atemu'sLotus sitting in comfy chairs.

Atemu'sLotus: "Hello, I am your host for the evening for this night's special interview of the FMA cast by the beta readers of Desperation". Let us begin with our first beta reader, Dantecell. Now, Dantecell you can ask anyone in this room anything you wish. Ready? All right let's begin."

Dantecell: "Riza why do ya still feel the need to boink a freakin emo?" _(His exact writing, not mine.)_

Everyone: . . .

Atemu'sLotus smiles politely to the camera.

Roy Mustang: "I resent being called an emo."

Dantecell:"Then next time don't go," ::Continues in a whiney voice:: "Oh no I killed so many people with alchemy so I have to give it up forever! So I have to suddenly leave and contemplate by myself and not tell my girlfriend! Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo! And then suddenly I can't do this anymore and go back and be a false hero and save everyone!" Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo!!" ::Ends whiney voice:: "Suck it up old man."

Roy Mustang: "How dare you! Riza did you hear that?!"

Riza Hawkeye smiles brightly.

Riza Hawkeye: "What an accurate impersonation Dantecell-san. That was quite enjoyable."

Dantecell: "Why thank you. I dare say it was lovely talking to you but I must go. I hope to see you once again but on more amicable terms."

And with that Dantecell stands up. He walks over to Riza and gently kisses her hand. Then he walks out of the room.

Atemu'sLotus turns to the camera.

Atemu'sLotus: "And now it's MangoSorbet's turn. MangoSorbet."

MangoSorbet: Roy is NOT emo!! ::Tiny voice:: And anyways emo is hot...."

MangoSorbet looks away and coughs discretely.

MangoSorbet: "So...Roy...Wouldn't you prefer someone better and prettier than...." MangoSorbet scowls in disgust while looking at Riza, "..her?"

Everyone in the room gulps as the sound of a gun being cocked is heard.

Riza Hawkeye: "I have a name Fruity Dessert-san."

MangoSorbet: I bet he prefers **FRUITY** and **JUICY** over dry and boring you..." Takes out hot pink shotgun out of nowhere, "_Wannabee floozy."_

Riza Hawkeye eyes the hot pink shotgun and laughs. She blows a whistle and a pack of Black Hayates come out of nowhere and attack MangoSorbet.

Riza Hawkeye: "That's where you're wrong Fruity Dessert-san, I would never want to be like you."

MangoSorbet skillfully avoids the mangy muts by doing aerobatic jumps.

MangoSorbet: "Ha! Your attempts FAIL!!" Suddenly she jumps up and gives Roy big, wet kiss, "MUAHZ!!!!" Winks, "'Til next time, _hot-stuff!_"She disappears in a cloud of red fog.

All of the characters look at Atemu'sLotus.

Atemu'sLotus: "I didn't know she could jump…"

Riza Hawkeye: "All fleas can jump and to answer Dantecell-san's question, Emo sex is the best. Too bad Fruity Dessert-san will never know _that_."

Atemu'sLotus: "OKAY!! WELL! That's it for today folks! Hopefully next time our beta readers will have something NICE to say to the FMA characters. Until next time!"

See ya later!

Please enjoy!


	25. Chapter 25

HI!!

I'm stuck in my house all summer! GAR! But that just means that I am bored, which is good for all y'all because that means that I want to just keep writing and writing to keep myself busy. W00t!

LOOK AT ME! People are speaking Ishbalan in this chapter so when they do that it will look like this, _"I am speaking Ishbalan! W00t for the example!"_

On with the show!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus is nervous. The people who own FMA are in the audience. If Atemu'sLotus pulls off the best show ever then she'll get the rights to FMA. She braces herself and begins her routine. Everything was going fine, the cows were dancing to perfection, the chickens were clucking like there was no tomorrow and then… the platypuses came on stage… Atemu'sLotus is now in the hospital cursing the messed up mammal. No FMA rights for Atemu'sLotus.

* * *

The soldiers dumped Ed's limp body in a cell and walked away to report their success. Ed looked up to see his surroundings and growled. Of course, the cell wasn't a five star hotel. It was sparse and cold…and wet. If Ed had been taken by the Ishbalans his prison might have been drier. Sadly, he was caught by the Nazis.

"Damn Nazis…"

Ed had gotten the beating of his life from the Ishbalans and then the Nazi soldiers. Although Ed had tried to help the Ishbalans escape from the Nazis the Ishbalans didn't understand that and instead attacked him. It was hard to watch as the Nazis plowed down the Ishbalans that were beating him and then unleashed their powers on the innocent people coming over the ridge. What hurt the most was that Alphonse was nowhere to be found. Was he shot by accident or did he survive?

"Edward?" A soft voice asked.

Ed looked up from the ground and tried to find the source of the voice. He squinted to see into the cell across from him. A silhouette of a young woman sitting up against a wall could be seen as well as a figure sleeping in a corner. The young woman crawled closer to the bars where Ed could fully identify her.

"Lamya! Lamya are you all right? Is that Sciezska?" Ed asked as he crawled towards the bars of his cell.

Lamya didn't look any better than he felt. She had multiple bruises and lacerations all over her body. Some blood trickled from her mouth and her arm was glowing more than ever. Her dress was torn but Ed could see that she tore it herself since the sleeping body in the corner had a bandaged arm. Although she didn't look her best she was still alive and that gave Ed a sigh of relief.

"I'm fine," Lamya said before Ed scoffed. She gave him a look of disapproval and continued, "Sciezska is in worse shape than I. When I got here she couldn't even speak, let alone move." Lamya looked around Ed and then made a face. "Where's Alphonse? What happened? Are you okay?"

Ed felt his stomach drop. He had no answer for her; her guess was as good as his when it came to Alphonse. All Ed could do was answer her last questions. "We, Al and I, came to save you and instead we were…Well… We kinda fell in a trap. I got the crap beaten out of me. I don't know where Al is if he's not here."

Lamya's heart stopped. Alphonse could be dead for all they knew while she was here doing nothing. She had finally figured out her feelings towards him and had confessed and now this. Needless to say, Lamya was very angry with the men in grey suits for ruining everything for her. They were definitely going to be taught some manners if it was the last thing she did.

"Edward, do you know what's going on? Who are these people and why are they doing this?" Lamya asked as she leaned into her bars. She was tired of all of this and she wanted some answers.

Before Edward could answer her, two soldiers came and stood in front of Lamya's cell.

"You come with us," the woman said as her companion unlocked the cell. The woman roughly grabbed Lamya and held a gun to her head. They then turned around and looked at Ed. "You too," the woman said as she led Lamya down the hall. The man unlocked Ed's cell and dragged him into the hallway. After a while, the two soldiers were walking next to each other with Lamya and Ed in tow.

"_Lamya, did Sciezska tell you anything when you got here or since?"_ Ed asked in Ishbalan as the four walked down the cold, damp, and dark hallways.

Lamya tried to look at Ed but the woman just dug the gun into Lamya's skull so she stared straight ahead. _"I told you that she couldn't speak at all when I came here. She's been sleeping ever since she crawled her way over to me. Edward, do __**you**__ know anything about what's going on?"_

"I can answer that for you Miss Vetz," a sickly voice cooed.

The four stopped walking and faced darkness. Suddenly torches were lit to show a circular room full of people and empty cages. A man stood in the middle of the room with his back to the four. All of the people in the room were paying attention to the man in the middle and they were all wearing the same uniform. A table of books and materials were to the right of the entrance of the room. Lamya glanced at Ed but he just stared at the cloaked figure.

"Unlike what your friend Mr. Elric thinks, we are not trying to make a Philosopher's Stone," the cloaked figure said as he turned around. He smiled a crooked grin and floated over to the four. He snapped his fingers and two more soldiers appeared and then went down the hallway. "However," the man leaned into Ed's face with that wicked grin, "We do need you for your alchemy abilities."

"Why the hell would I help you?" Ed growled.

The man stepped away from Ed, took a gun out of his waistcoat, and then shot Lamya's left thigh.

"What the hell!" Ed yelled as he desperately tried to free himself of the man that held him.

Lamya screamed out in pain as blood began to seep from the wound. The woman holding a gun to her head caught her and made Lamya stand on her wounded leg. Sweat formed on Lamya's brow as she stood there on her bleeding leg.

"How about now?" the man asked nonchalantly.

Before Ed could answer, he was interrupted by Lamya. "W-what does this plan entail?" Lamya panted as she tried to stay on her own two feet.

"Death of course. The main ingredient is human flesh, no? Don't worry. We've already tested it on some locals—this should be safe for all of us," the man chuckled as he gestured towards a pile of dead Ishbalans to his left.

Lamya's arm began to ache but the pain from her thigh overrode it. Just by looking at the piles of bodies made her body feel like it was about to be torn apart. Lamya swallowed before she threw up and then she spoke, "Edward, don't. Do. It." Lamya stared straight at the evil man and continued, "I would rather die before you help _him_."

Suddenly everything connected for Ed. When he had first landed back in his home dimension, The Gate had been talking about "taking care of _Him_." "Him" referring to the man before them. Edward thought he had recognized this man's voice, this was the man that had told Ed to use alchemy on the Bermuda Triangle. The evil man also had guided Ed through tough spots in their journey. This man had control over them the whole time!

The Elric brothers and everyone else had once again been duped by some crazy person that wanted to abuse power! While Ed and Al were sleeping at Riza's, this lunatic and his gang of thugs did something to Lamya's arm. They were the ones behind the train incidents and they were the ones who turned the Ishbalans against Lamya!

"Oh… So you've learned," the man said as he smiled at Ed, "You're a quick one Mr. Elric but not quick enough."

Ed seethed. "I will never help you."

The man tsked and waltzed over to Lamya. He grabbed her chin to look her over. Another wicked smile grew on his face when her glowing arm reacted to his touch and she screamed out in pain.

"But you already have Mr. Elric. You already have," the man turned to Ed, "You see, I read a book about you, your biography if you will. I learned all about your quest and the power that you sought. I was so happy to learn of the Philosopher's Stone that I immediately began my project. It was by a miracle that you and your brother also got lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Not only could you help us perform the proper ritual but you had also found the perfect sacrifice. Miss Vetz."

Lamya winced in pain. Not matter how hard she tried she just couldn't stand up straight. Her leg was bleeding and it hurt like hell. Then Lamya took a good look at her leg. The blood was glowing. She looked up at the man and he sneered. The pools of blood that surrounded Lamya's leg began to contract into little red pebbles. Ed's eyes widened as he saw Philosopher Stones dripping from Lamya's leg wound.

"I don't need the Philosopher's Stone because you are one, Miss Vetz. All thanks to dear Mr. Elric," the man said before he burst into laughter.

"No… It can't be…" Ed whispered in horror.

"Oh yes, yes it can. Now will you draw the transmutation circle for us or will we have to kill your friend here?" The man asked as the two soldiers from before dragged out Sciezska. She had no energy to fight back so the soldiers dragged her into the light.

Lamya's eyes went wide when she saw Sciezska. Edward had to make a choice, obey the man or get them all killed. Lamya knew that no matter what she wasn't going to get out alive but if Edward went with the man's plans then maybe, just maybe everyone else could get out safely. But could she do it? Could she convince herself and Edward?

"I-" Ed began.

"Can we have time to think about it?" Lamya asked before Edward could finish. Ed looked at her in shock but she ignored it. She needed time to get her head straight.

The man smiled and nodded. "You have one day. Take them back to their cells." As they got ready to walk back to their prisons the man turned and said, "Oh! Please don't try to escape because you will fail as you have in the past. See you in one day's time."

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One day.

One day had passed and Ed still could not make up his mind. He had been too shocked when Lamya requested some thinking time. Didn't she just say not to give into the man? Why would they need to deliberate if he already knew that he was going to refuse?

Ed knew that when they added Sciezska to the mix that Lamya would hesitate. She was that sort of person but Ed planned not to lose any of the women. He didn't understand what the man wanted him to do exactly. The man already had the power to make Philosopher Stones so why did he need Ed or even Sciezska? What was he planning?

"And what the hell is that guy's name??" Ed grumbled as he coursed his finger through his hair in frustration.

"Edward?" Lamya's voice carried over from the cell across from him.

"Why did you ask for more time when you know that I'm going to say no?" Ed groused.

There was a momentary pause and then Lamya spoke. "Because I want you to do it."

Ed jumped up and grabbed the bars. He stared at Lamya and shouted, "What! What the hell are you talking about? You know that if I do then they'll kill you and Sciezska! I refuse to lead you both to your deaths!"

"Edward-"

"No! I won't!"

"Edward, please-"

"No! End of discussion!"

"NO! Not end of discussion!" Lamya yelled as she stood up and grabbed the bars, "They're planning something Edward! I'm already a Philosopher's Stone so what else could they want? Why when they can make more people like me, do they need your help? You obviously can do something and learn something that they can't! You need to find out what it is before it's too late! So stop being stubborn and be the solution not the problem! Find out what's going on!"

Ed stood there in shock while Lamya slumped up against the bars. Her leg wound did not help in the matter so she sat down. The coolness of the cell floor made her sigh with relief. She looked up at Edward and said, "Well? Do you understand now?"

Ed sat down on the cell floor and put his head in his hands. "You could die…"

Lamya looked at Ed sadly. "I know," She whispered, "But I believe in you."

Ed stayed still for a little bit and then sighed. He stood up and began to bang on the bars until a soldier came walking down the hallway.

"I've decided."

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"Wake up Mr. Funny man! Wake up! _Please wake up Mr. Funny Man! Please!_" A little voice cried.

Alphonse groaned as a sharp pain shot through his head. His whole body was aching and all he could hear was a little girl calling for someone. For whom he did not know. What had he been doing anyway? Did it involve his head getting hit? What was he-

"Lamya!" Alphonse yelled as he suddenly sat up, a motion he soon regretted. Al grabbed his head and leaned forward in pain. A little hand grabbed one of his arms making Al look to his left. There was the source of the little girl voice that he had heard earlier. "Sephia?"

The little girl immediately began to ramble in Ishbalan. _"Mr. Funny Man! These men just came and shot everyone! They were so scary! They were so angry and scary looking! Mr. Funny Man you need to do something!"_

Alphonse looked at the little girl and then tried to find out where he was. He remembered falling down… There. Alphonse saw the entrance to the cave.

"_Sephia, are you hurt anywhere?" _Al asked, as he looked the girl over. She had some scratches and scrapes but nothing major from what he could see.

The little girl's eyes began to water as she pointed to her arm. _"My arm is bleeding… Are you going to kiss it to make it better?"_

Alphonse looked at the fragile young girl and sighed. He kissed three of his fingers and then gently touched her arm. He looked Sephia in the eyes and said, _"There, all better. Sephia how long has it been since I… Since I fell asleep?"_

"_The sun went up and down twice," _Sephia said as she hugged herself. There was a draft in the cave and a cold breeze just blew through. Alphonse took off his jacket and handed it to the girl.

"_Scary men came and shot people huh? Are they gone now?"_ Alphonse asked as he tried to look out of the cave as carefully as he possibly could.

Sephia shook her head.

Alphonse sighed and crawled out of the cave. He looked back to see Sephia looking around as if someone was going to jump out at them. Alphonse crouched down in front of the cave and held out his hand. _"You know, I can't fight all of the scary men by myself. I need back-up."_

Sephia smiled at Al and followed him out of the cave. They slowly walked up the hill to the battleground. The rain was still falling but not as heavy as before. Corpses were strewn across the now blood red beach. Before Alphonse could take Sephia away from the area, she was already running across the field to a pile of bodies.

"_Mama! Papa!" _Sephia screamed as she knelt down next to the two lifeless forms that were once her parents. _"Mama! Papa! Wake up! Mr. Funny Man is here! Wake up! Please wake up!"_ Sephia shook her dead parents with no results.

Alphonse walked up behind Sephia, all the while looking around for Ed but to no avail. 'The Nazis must have taken brother with them,' Al thought before he looked down at Sephia, 'Sephia….'

Her little eyes pooled over and she began to cry. Sephia looked up at Alphonse and cried, _"Mr. Funny Man why aren't they waking up? Are they too tired to get up? I don't like it when they ignore me… Please wake them up Mr. Funny Man. Please… I want Mama…"_ The little girl was still shaking her parents while looking at Alphonse for answers.

Al's heart went out to Sephia and he knelt down beside her. _"Your mama and papa are in a better place now. Shshshhhh…"_ Sephia grabbed onto Alphonse. As Al hugged Sephia a question popped into his mind. He didn't want to ask her this now but if he didn't then more people would die. _"Sephia… Is your house close by?"_

The little girl nodded and looked up at Al. _"It's over the hill. Are we going home?"_

"_Yes Sephia. We're going to your home,"_ Alphonse said as he picked up the little girl and ran as fast as he could. Mustang didn't have to wait long for that phone call.

* * *

And the plot thickens. (Or thins out due to Mustang appearing.) I wonder what the Nazis are planning…. Hm… Only four more chapters to go people! Sad, I know…. But! I might make a sequel. Might. Depends on my mood and whether anyone would read it. ;p

As a special treat to my readers I think I shall once again have a BONUS dealing with the ever so popular beta readers!

**The letter written by Dantecell in this BONUS was edited due for taste and content. You will thank me later.

BONUS

The interview room has the FMA Cast, Dantecell, MangoSorbet, and Atemu'sLotus sitting in comfy chairs.

Atemu'sLotus: "Hello, I am your host for the evening for this night's special interview of the FMA cast by the beta readers of _Desperation_. Sadly, Roy and Riza will not be joining us this evening. Last time we started with Dantecell so MangoSorbet may go first. You may ask anything you want to any of the characters. Let's begin."

MangoSorbet: "Ed."

Ed: "Yeah?"

MangoSorbet: "Um…"

Ed: "Speak Woman!!"

MangoSorbet: "Uh…"

Lamya: "Edward! Be polite!! She's the beta-reader for the story!"

Ed: "What story?"

Him: "The one we're in, stupid."

MangoSorbet: "How do you feel about what's currently going on?"

Ed: "Well, it f&%$ing sucks. Maybe if you read the damn story you would know how I feel."

Lamya: "Edward!"

Ed: "WHAT?? ONE OF US IS GOING TO DIE!! WHY THE HELL WOULD I BE HAPPY?!?!

Atemu'sLotus: "Edward, be nice. Please continue ManoSorbet, I'll write him in a better mood."

Ed: "Gr…"

MangosSorbet: "Die?" *Glares at Atemu'sLotus as she thinks of adding the word 'short' before Ed's name in the next chapter…* "No one is supposed to die… Right?"

Ed: "How should I know? I'm not the one writing the story…"

MangoSorbet: *Having run out of patience with Ed's attitude.* "I wasn't asking you, you LITTLE SHORT monster!!!!!!"

Ed: "WHAT? WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PINT SIZED MIDGET WHO CAN'T EVEN REACH THE COOKIE JAR WITH A TEN FOOT LADDER????"

MangoSorbet: "Uh… Well if you feel that way about yourself…" .

Ed: "I'm going to kill you."

Before Ed gets to MangoSorbet, Atemu'sLotus pulls out a tranquilizer and shoots him. Ed goes down for the count.

Atemu'sLotus: "Why must you always provoke the characters?"

ManogSorbet: "It's not like I started it!!"

Atemu'sLotus: Sigh… "Is there anyone else you would like to question?"

MangoSorbet: "No….."

Atemu'sLotus: "Are you sure?"

MangoSorbet: *Looks around for Roy and sighs…* "Yes…."

Atemu'sLotus: "Thank you MangoSorbet. We shall be looking forward to your opinions on the next chapter. Dantecell?"

Dantecell: "The bastard's already down for the count so my submission will be in letter format."

Atemu'sLotus: "Ok…"

Dantecell:

Dear Ed,

What the fck? Why did you leave for the other world when beautiful Winry was waiting for you in Amestris? You do know that you could have destroyed The Gate in Amestris and make the one in our world null and void, correct? You're a dumb ass. Oh, and the atomic bomb thing? Totally not a good reason for coming back to our side of The Gate. You might not have noticed this but you failed in your mission. Good job, you suck.

Try to think next time,

Dantecell

Atemu'sLotus: "…"

Dantecell: "What?"

Atemu'sLotus: "Nothing… Well, that's it for today folks. Until next time!"

* * *

Please enjoy!

See ya!


	26. Chapter 26

Hello everyone.

It's been a while hasn't it? I could give you a list of excuses and how much my life has been turned around but that's boring so let's get on the story. ;p

On with the show!

Disclaimer: Atemu'sLotus was walking along the road when she saw a street vendor. She walked up to see his wares when she saw the rights to FMA. Immediately she checked to see if she had enough money to buy them but… She forgot her wallet at home!! Darn you memory!! I don't own FMA.

* * *

Sciezska stirred a little as her aching body finally let her regain some conscious. She had noticed that she was moved earlier. She could've sworn that her life was threatened if Ed didn't do something but that had to be a bad dream. Ed wasn't in the vicinity as far as she could see. The only one there was Lamya and she looked to be in deep thought. Sciezska trained her eyes to look closer at her caretaker. It was then that she noticed the tracks of tears slowly running down the Ishbalan's face, along with soft sobs racking her frame.

"Lamya?" Sciezska whispered in a hoarse voice. It crackled a little bit due to its inconsistent use as of late. She turned her head more to look at her friend but she found that that hurt too much so she just nestled further into Lamya's lap, getting a more comfortable view of her friend without hurting her neck too much. Her movement and noise seemed to surprise the young woman.

Lamya looked down at Sciezska with wide hopeful eyes. "S-Sciezska? You're awake. How are you feeling?" Lamya asked while wiping away her tears and sniffling. This was the first time that the woman had actually gained enough conscious to speak to her. It had to mean that she was getting better even though Lamya had no idea why. Maybe it was because she was a Philosopher's stone? Her eyes widened and she wanted to smack her head. She could heal Sciezska with the Philosopher's stone from within her!

She placed both her hands on either side of Sciezska's head and then stopped. How was she supposed to use the stone anyways? She had only heard fairytales about its existence and some information from the Elric brothers' life story but that was it. No one had actually told her how to use the darned thing. A frustrated sigh escaped Lamya's lips as she thought about the situation. She had to admit that this was a nice distraction from the current circumstances. With another sigh she decided that maybe if she imagined the transmutation circles from her self-healing bandages and then mentally applied it to Sciezska, it could work.

Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath before this rush of energy flowed through her. It was like fresh cool water coursing through her body, it was strange and calming at the same time. The area around Sciezska glowed as Lamya focused all of her energy on the injured girl. After she was done, Lamya slowly opened her eyes to look down at her companion. "Feel better?" she asked with a small smile.

'Whatever she just did was extremely soothing,' Sciezska thought as her lungs felt clear and her body more light. When the Ishbalan had grabbed her head she panicked a little bit wondering if she was still dreaming, but then this rush of cool air swept her body. Everywhere she hurt changed from a sharp pain to a soft throb. It felt as if her body was anew. It wasn't perfectly healed but it felt better than it did before. She actually had the strength to sit up and turn to her savior.

"What did you just do?" she asked as she inspected her own body.

"I used the Philosopher's stone that's inside me to help you heal. I see it worked after the first try. Interesting… How are you feeling now?" Lamya asked as she too looked at her body in wonder. It seemed that the transmutation worked both ways as her leg was all healed from the previous gunshot wound.

"Wait. Philosopher's stone? In your body? How… What?" Sciezska said as she gaped at her friend. This was news to her. When did this development happen? Was it when she was captured and unconscious? "What's going on?"

Lamya sighed before smiling sadly at Sciezska. "I can only tell you what I know so far, but I'm still trying to figure out this situation myself," she answered as she went into a long explanation of the current events. Sciezska listened and tried to wrap her brain around what was happening. She found out why her friend was crying. If Sciezska had been in Lamya's position she wondered if she too could volunteer herself for execution.

"Can't you use the Philosopher's Stone to get us out of here?" Sciezska asked. It seemed like the obvious solution but Lamya shook her head.

"The only type of alchemy that I know how to use is healing. The last time I tried to use regular alchemy a train exploded…" Lamya mumbled the last part. "I have no idea what would happen if I used the power of the Philosopher's stone in an alchemic reaction that I have no control over. It could kill everyone here, without the intent to." She hadn't really thought of that solution but as she said, she couldn't possibly try it without harming more people then necessary.

"So what do we do?" Sciezska asked as she scooted up to sit next to Lamya. She brought her knees up to her chest, not caring that she was wearing the short skirt that the military required. No one was there to see and she was distressed. If Havoc had been there he would have probably figured out how to get out or at least help calm down Lamya unlike Sciezska. She curled in on herself more when she thought of her love. Was he worried about her? He wouldn't smoke twenty packs of cigs out of worry would he? He always seemed to smoke a ridiculous amount of cigs when his nerves were fried. She glanced at her friend, waiting for her answer while thinking of Havoc wistfully.

Lamya didn't answer though. She just stared at the floor blankly, desperately trying to figure out another way to escape, but came up with nothing. Tears welled up in her eyes at that hopeless thought. She knew it was selfish to act like this now when she had already told Edward to obey the bad guys, but she needed to release this increasing pressure on her chest. So instead of answering Sciezska she began to cry. It was all she could think of doing.

Edward glared at the floor while contemplating his situation. Lamya had told him to go ahead and sacrifice her in order for him and Sciezska to live but he knew better. The bad the guys in this situation were just using his and Sciezska's lives as an excuse to push him to do what they wanted. They were all going to die, this he knew but there was always that voice in the back of his head. There was a way out of this, there had to be.

They had given him a book that no one understood and at first he thought that it was nonsense as well, until he really examined a page. It was in code. Just like how Dr. Marcoh had hidden his formula for the Philosopher's stone, this alchemist had hidden his or her formula for time travel. It seemed impossible to Ed but after combing through the whole book for what seemed like days, even weeks, he realized that it was indeed possible. Of course he believed in the concept—otherwise how did he and Alphonse get back home?—but the actual formula was hard to believe.

In order for this to work, there had to be a Philosopher's stone involved, hence Lamya's position in the plan. They had somehow created a Philosopher's stone with the Ishbalans at their disposal. Ed looked at the corner filled with dead corpses before turning back to the book in his hand with disgust and sorrow. After creating the Philosopher's stone, they implanted it in Lamya's arm, giving it a vessel to thrive in. Ed growled at the thought. They were just using her like an incubator until they needed the Philosopher's stone.

Now it was up to him to create the alchemic circle that killed her and transported everyone else back to their homes in the adjacent universe. The best part of this was that only one of them could return home. That meant that, if Ed's calculations were correct, only the leader of the group would survive the trip back home. Their leader knew this but Ed could bet anything that his lackeys didn't. The bastard was planning on using all of his minions as sacrifices so he could return home. At one point Ed had tried to hint this to the guards, but they had just threatened to kill Sciezska if he spoke any further. Apparently their boss had his bases covered because the guards told him that he had warned them that Ed would try to persuade them this way. So Ed just let them lead themselves to their horrid fates.

He shifted in his position as his glare remained on the ground. And now he back here, thinking about this predicament that they were all in. He had no idea if Alphonse was alive or not but the long days made his hope dwindle. His brother couldn't be this slow in getting help from Roy could he? Ed shook his head. These types of thoughts wouldn't do him well at all. Right now he had to figure out how to save his little group from the grips of the maniac that ran this hideout.

After looking at the formula one more time, Ed sighed. He couldn't figure out how to trick the man into his trap. He scanned the formula again and then a revelation hit him. It was a classic trap but would it work? It was so simple that it might. A smirk crept onto his features as he bent down and went to work on creating the transmutation circle.

"Have there been anymore problems?" the leader asked as he sipped some whiskey. It had been a day at least since the Elric man had started his transmutation circle. In the first few hours the Elric man had tried to mess up the plan by attempting to kill himself but the guards had luckily stopped him. After that there were no instances, it seemed that the guards had broken him so there was no trouble, but the leader was still concerned. It was close to the time that the transmutation circle would be activated and he had no idea what state the Elric man would be in.

The guard indicated that there were no problems and the leader smiled, "Good time to return home," he said as he stood, swigging the last of the alcohol down his throat. He sauntered into the dark room that held his most precious subjects. The pile of Ishbalan bodies was still in the corner, taking up a rancid smell, but that didn't bother him. Soon he would be home and to his fuehrer. Everyone was brimming with excitement, thinking that they too would go home to their loved ones or jobs. He wanted to laugh at their foolishness but kept it inside.

"Where do we stand?" the guard asked the broken form near the edge of the circle. As the leader came closer he realized with some amusement that it was the Elric man. Those dead eyes were most becoming on him. The broken Elric man instructed everyone with a raspy voice to step on any circle, sharing was permitted if there wasn't a lot of room. However, the leader knew that he had to be in a special circle so he stepped forward to inquire. The broken man instructed him to the center of the transmutation circle. There were two large circles in the center, one for him and the other presumably for the Philosopher's stone.

'Speaking of the Philosopher's stone…' he thought as he saw the girl being dragged out of the shadows. She looked drained and why shouldn't she be? She had signed her own death certificate by letting—no, ordering—the Elric man to create the transmutation circle. It made the leader chuckle as she was dragged to her circle. Her dead eyes sparkled as she looked at the Elric man. What happened next amazed even him. She smiled at the Elric man, smiled! Under such conditions she smiled at him. The leader looked at the Elric man to see his reaction but wasted his energy. Mr. Elric showed no emotion towards her.

"Enough. Start it now," he said in a commanding voice. The Philosopher's stone didn't need any comforting from the broken Elric. "Start the transmutation Mr. Elric. Home awaits," he ordered the broken man. Everyone around him cheered in satisfaction not knowing what was to come. Only he had something to cheer about. His plan had gone quite smoothly, except for the attempted suicide, everything was on schedule. He could hear footsteps from above and quickly ordered the man to start. The transmutation circle glowed a beautiful blue that warmed everyone.

The glow grew more intense as the power seeped through them all. Suddenly, the door burst open and shouts could be heard but the intruders couldn't do anything to stop the transmutation, it was too dangerous. That was when the blue began to have black specks enter its glow. A man screamed out in pain as a streak of black pierced through him. The group in the circle was shocked and appalled. All except the leader. He smiled as the process continued, people screaming from the sheer agony and his cackling filled the air. They all felt betrayed but what did he care, he was getting what he wanted. Through the light he could see the other Elric brother kneeling beside the elder, pleading with him to stop, to do anything to save the Philosopher's stone beside him.

With another flash of light a black streak pierced the leader's chest. His eyes widened as he looked over at the Philosopher's stone. Her screams filled the air as her eyes burned pure red and a white streak of light pierced her heart, making her screams louder if that was at all possible. The last thing he saw was the evil look in the elder Elric brother's eyes as the leader's mouth opened to scream his last scream.

Edward watched as the bastards paraded into the room. He knew their pain, the want to go home at all cost but Ed would have never done this. He wouldn't have blatantly killed so many innocent people just to go home. No, he stayed where he was and took it like a man. With some self disgust he couldn't wait to start the ceremony just to get rid of some evil from the world. As the leader entered, his blood boiled but he refused to show it. If he had shown anything in his eyes then his whole plan would have been ruined. Lamya would be lost, or at least the chance to save her would be lost.

Hours beforehand, he attempted suicide just to ward off any suspicion. Edward was going to finally believe in any god if his plan worked, any god. It was such a simple plan and yet complicated in its own way. When La-la entered the room his heart clenched. She looked like hell, not that she was supposed to look like fresh flowers under the circumstances, but still. There were tear trails down her face, somewhat smudged as if she tried to hide them before she saw him. It was then that he started to pray to any deity that would listen to him. This plan had to work, he had to save La-la and Sciezska. He had to.

When she walked to her place, her face strained as if in pain, and looked up to lock eyes with him, he was startled when she smiled, complete trust in her eyes. She had accepted her fate. Ed wanted to scream out that she was wrong, that everything would be all right, but his face remained apathetic. This had to work out or his sanity would leave him. Losing Lamya again, losing a little sister again would destroy him. He dragged himself over to the edge of the circle and knelt down. At the leader's command he clapped his hands and began the transmutation.

Someone burst into the room as the first person was struck by the powerful black light. Ed recognized the voices behind him but he refused to break his concentration. He had to save Lamya, he had to. A form appeared next to him, begging him to stop but Ed ignored his brother and continued. The screams got louder and louder as Ed's heart rate increased with every second. Doubt filled his mind, wondering if he had done anything wrong, if he had messed up the plan somehow.

He was answered when a black streak of light stabbed the leader's chest and a white one stabbed Lamya. It had worked! Ed could feel his sinister glare as he stared down the leader bastard, screaming for his life. Another sound entered the air and then Ed figured out that it was himself, he was laughing, taunting the dying leader. Ed's resolve broke as he felt arms grab his shoulders, which shook from his hysterical laughter. His laughter died down though when he saw Lamya's form drop to the ground. The transmutation ended and everything was silent for only a few seconds. Then all hell broke lose and Ed fell to the ground unconscious.

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So? What do you think? The plot thickens no? I wonder if Lamya survives and if the leader finally goes back to his country…

I would write a Bonus but I have a feeling that my beta-readers have a lot of pent up comments waiting to leak out so I'll just let them do the talking. ;p

BONUS!

Sadly dantecell will not be joining us in the Bonus festivities because his computer rejected this document… (What does that say about this chapter? O.O)

So let's go MangoSorbet!

I could give you a list of excuses and how much my life has been turned around but that's boring so let's get on the story. ;p _**NO EXCUSES!!!**_

Atemu'sLotus was walking along the road when she saw a street vendor. She walked up to see his wares when she saw the rights to FMA. Immediately she checked to see if she had enough money to buy them but… She forgot her wallet at home!! Darn you memory!! I don't own FMA. _**That's when you procede to attack him .**_ (HA! YOU SPELLED PROCEED WRONG!! AHAHAHAHA!!)

It was like fresh cool water coursing through her body, it was strange and claming at the same time. _**Claming? Yes, I love clams. I love clams very much.**_

This was news to her. When did this development happen? Was it when she was captured and unconscious? "What's going on?" _**Get with the times Sciezska!! You're falling behind! Of course, I would be too since your creator hasn't worked on this since like a millenium ago!!**_ ( SPELLED MILLENNIUM WRONG!! AHA! I'm enjoying correcting my editor a little too much…. .)

If Sciezska had been in Lamya's position she wondered if she too could volunteer herself for execution. _**Hells no.**_

She brought her knees up to her chest, not caring that she was wearing the short skirt that the military required. _**Pedos!!**_ (I think you mean Pervs.)

Ed growled at the thought. _**RAWWWRRR!!!!!**_

Everyone around him cheered in satisfaction not knowing what was to come. _**Idiots.**_

He smiled as the process continued, people screaming from the sheer agony and his cackling filled the air. _**JEJEJEJEJEJEJE!!!!!**_

She looked like hell, not that she was supposed to look like fresh flowers under the circumstances, but still. _**One must always look like fresh flowers when they're about to die because of a maniac. "YOU!" ***__points to anonymous reader__*** "WHY DO YOU NOT LOOK FLOWERY!?!?"**_

This had to work out or his sanity would leave him. _**Im surprised it's still there**_ ( I want to point out another grammatical error but I won't….)

Ed's resolve broke as he felt arms grab his shoulders, which shook from his hysterical laughter. _**KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE!!!!**_

The plot thickens no? _**The plot is thick like cheese!!!! I must now get some cheese...**_

I would write a Bonus but I have a feeling that my beta-readers have a lot of pent up comments waiting to leak out so I'll just let them do the talking. ;p _**Indeed.**_

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Wow. MangoSorbet made a very nice Bonus. :'D

Thanks for reading!

See ya soon!


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